Coming In Waves
by ccouurtneey
Summary: Real world to my divergent fanfiction. If you don't know what that is... go check it out. Mature for Language only, not actions.
1. Chapter 1

Coming in Waves

Chapter 1

I'm waking up slowly but surely to the sound of his breaths. His arms around me, one i could feel on the back and another around my stomach. I could feel everywhere he touches which gives me butterflies. I open my eyes and i see his tan skin along with his rippling muscles. His brown hair and his perfect shaped lips and i couldn't help myself. I kissed his lips and i could feel him waking up and smile through the kiss I open my eyes and there is was his deep brown and wonderful eyes that I love oh so very much.

"Good morning." I say and then Zeke flashed his million dollar smile. That smile won over three-fourth's of the votes to make him the youngest senator New York has ever seen. He's only thirty which makes him one of the youngest

"Hell of a way to wake up." He says and grins. "We need to get up now. So many things to do…"

"Go to court. Plead cases for innocent people."

"Go to the office and debate about important issues for New York to vote on…"

"Get our son ready for school…"

"Get ready for work…"

"Feed the dog…"

"We don't have a dog." I say and look up at him and he is just laughing. I shake my head and he laughs even harder. "You're an idiot."

"That may be Devina, but I'm your idiot. In about five days, you will be mine forever." He says and kisses my head. He gets away out of the cover and apparently forgot what we did last night that did not require any undergarments.

"Opps. I guess I forgot my underwear." He says and I just shake my head. He picks them up from the floor and then walks to the bathroom. He runs his fingers through his hair which makes him look about a million times sexier. I look at him as he walks and I am so lucky and in about five days I will no longer be Devina Kingston, instead I will be Devina Parker. I get up from my incredibly comfy bed with my soft and cozy sheets and I pick up Zeke's shirt that lies on the floor and throw it on. I walk to the bathroom which I love. When I got this house as part of my inheritance, I had to completely redo it. Well, not completely, just make sure all of the color schemes matched throughout the entire house. I didn't want the modern type that it had before, I wanted the homey feel. It was mostly brown and white through all of the family and open rooms but then all of the rooms had their own particular style. Our room was grey with white curtains that covered the balcony doors. Our bathroom had the same color scheme; it had a standing shower with a claw foot tub by the window overlooking central park, along with his and her sinks. Of course we had separate closets because his wardrobe is so vast.

When I walk into the bathroom, Zeke is already in the shower singing that song by Beyonce I don't recall the name of. We met her once, nice lady. I go to my sink and brush my teeth and washed my face. I look up I see my half naked fiancé who is still a tab bit wet and then I have to remind myself to close my mouth.

"Damn it Zeke!" I say to him and he just laughs. He goes to his sink and I turn on the shower. I look at him and he starts to brush his teeth. I take off my shirt and jump in. I was jamming out to the Journey song when I hear Zeke open his closet door. I turn off the shower and grab a towel. My damp hair is leaving a trail of water on the bathroom floor and I go to my closet. I open the door and every time I step in here, it's like my own personal heaven. I pass by all of my shoes, and then all my fancy cloths and finally reach my drawers of undergarments. I open the drawer and pull out a matching set of Victoria Secret underwear and I put it on. I walk through my closet and pick out an outfit to wear. I look at the clock which reads 6:45 AM and I still have time. I walk through the rows of cloths and I finally decide on my black pants romper and a blue blazer. I put it on and I finally sit down at my make up station and go to work. I don't really like to wear a lot of make up so it's just foundation, powder and eyes. I'm finally perfected the winged eye liner and I take one final look and move onto jewelry. I put on my engagement ring and the necklace that has my mothers' wedding ring. Yet again, I have to face the fact that it is yet another year that I don't get to see her ever again. I take a moment and pray to her that she watches over me and our family.

"Babe! Come on! We still have to make sure Lucas is awake!" Zeke yells through the door that separates us. I recollect the last time I saw her, close my eyes, take a deep breath and open my eyes. I smile and I open the door and there he is, the reason for my existence. He smiles at me and I smile back. I walk to him and give him a kiss. "You know, you should look so amazing when you know I wont be there to see it."

"You look nice too Zeke." I say and I look at what he is wearing a Dior suit I picked out for him. It was the same day we got Lucas his first Nike shoes he earned when he brought home straight A's.

We walk hand in hand down staircase while passing pictures of us on the walls. I glance at every single one we pass. Here's one when we were in the Hamptons last summer. Another when we went to California to go to the premiere of a movie that was based on a book. Then one on Lucas' birthday last year when we had a pool party; we shoved the cake in his face when he blew out his candles; thank God our friends had the camera ready. So many great memories here and we get to relive them all through pictures. We went down two flights of stairs already, why is this house so damn big. We have been living here since I turned eighteen, we moved in when Lucas was about two years old.

"Why must we have such a big house with so many stairs?" I ask and Zeke just laughs.

"Well, why must you wear four inch heels just to go to work?" He asks which makes me laugh. "Honestly though? They have spikes on the heels. That should be a safety hazard."

We walk down the hall to Lucas' room and on the way we pass by the many pictures of him through the ages. We reach his door and Zeke knocks. Silence, so we go in.

"Lucas? Are you awake yet?" I ask while cautiously entering his private domain. He is getting to that age where he might be doing things I never want to know about. I still want to think of him as the little boy I just taught to swim and ride a bike.

"Mom?" Lucas says drowsily. I can see him moving under the covers and Zeke and I nod to each other. We both creep onto both sides of his bed. Zeke counts with his fingers 1…2…3 and we jump on and bounce on his bed. He freaks out and instantly pulls his covers off of him. "You guys are so not cool." Lucas says and Zeke and I laugh.

"You know what else isn't cool?" I ask and look at Zeke.

"Being late for school…"

"Being late for court…" I respond.

"Oh and how about being late to make decisions for the entire state on whether or not we should allow gay marriage…" Zeke finishes and we both laugh.

"You know this whole finishing each other's sentences isn't cute to your eleven year old son." Lucas says while pulling the covers over his head. "Can I have five more minutes?"

"Oh no… don't make me pull out reinforcements…" I say and he instantly get up. I smile and he just shrugs. "Oh come on Lucas! Look alive. Happy Monday!" I say and smile. He waves his hand and goes into his bathroom.

"You always use the reinforcements as a threat."

"Oh it is…" I say and smirk. I look around his room and it looks like every other ten year olds. Comic book corner, desk, T.V and Xbox and a big bile of mess. "Babe, can you believe this mess?"

"Mom! Leave the mess alone!" I hear Lucas yell from the bathroom.

"Come on babe. Boys will be boys." Zeke says and looks at me.

"No… don't defend him. If girl can clean up every once in a while, so can guys. I'm not his maid…"

"Yes, you're right. You're not his maid. But, we might consider…"

"No! We do not need a maid. Normal families can clean up their houses and we can clean up ours." I say putting my foot down. Zeke grew up in a household where he knew how to clean, but he just never had to do it. He never had to clean or even chew his own food. He was a silver spoon kid, so was I but I believe in hard work.

"Okay, whatever you say." He says and held out his hand. I take one last look at the mess and take his hand.

"what is I just…"

"Dad! Get her out of my room." Lucas yelled as I heard the shower turn on. Zeke and I smiled at each other and we went downstairs. Great, more stairs, I would most definitely invest in an elevator.

We reach the main floor and we head to the kitchen. The main floor has two offices, one for me and one for Zeke, a kitchen, a dining room, and a family room. The second floor has two bedrooms, a library and a den. The third floor has three bedrooms, a theatre and a gym and the fourth floor has the master bedroom and a spare bedroom. I go to my office and get my work bag. I make sure that I have all of the files I need for court today and head to the kitchen.

Zeke already put the coffee on and I start the eggs and bacon. By the time we are done cooking, Zeke and I sit and the island and drink the coffee and eat my breakfast. Yet again, my sister is on the cover of page six for doing her "humanitarian" work. Every since she married the pathetic excuse for a husband, she's been so board at home. She started these "projects", she's on the board of every damn hospital and charity foundation. She even joined the damn daughters of the American Revolution. All they care about is Tea's and talking about which president is the better lover.

"Hey, Lucinda is on page six again… what did she do this time?"

"Save polar bears, or was it her soul this time?" I say sarcastically and Zeke laughs. "I mean seriously, anyone who has actually met her can see through the erratic charade."

"You really need to let all of this anger go." Zeke says while rubbing my back.

"Never. I told you. Besides, I haven't even talked to her since she left for college. I wouldn't want to talk to her anyways. She needs to stay wherever the hell she is now, for her own safety. If I ever saw her again, I would probably strangle her."

"Whoa there mom… don't want the fine people of New York that the senators fiancé is about to commit murder. Who is it this time?" Lucas asks while coming down the stairs. He was wearing his Hudson River Academy uniform.

"You know you have a smart mouth for ten." I say and he just smirks.

"Hey, I'll be eleven in a month." He says and I just smile. He grabs some eggs and bacon on a plate and sits next to us on the island. I look at my watch which reads 7:10 AM.

"Come on people. We don't want to be late." I say and take the final sip of my coffee. I drop the cup in the sink and so does Zeke. We'll wash them later. We walk towards the door and I open the door. Arthur is already at the door of the limo.

"Hello Arthur." I say and enter the car, which Zeke and Lucas soon follow. I turn on my phone and I already have three messages; one from Trisha, Skylar and then from my father.

"Hey D, it's Trish. Come see me before you go to the office. I have to tell you something." Trisha says through the phone. She was a medium height blonde girl from a small town where supposedly everyone was nice to everyone. No wonder she left, she is the complete opposite. Trisha is one of my best friends from college. We actually hated each other at first; being from different sororities and all. But one day, we actually sat down and talked and we didn't even remember why we were nemesis in the first place.

"Hey, when Trish calls you don't pick up. I get to tell you the news first. The girls and I are having lunch at the grill. Remember, whatever you do, don't let her tell you." Skylar says via message and then hangs up. Skylar is a tall red head from here. I've known her for forever, we have been friends ever since high school when I found out she reads the same books and watches the same TV shows as me. Not to mention she was a bigger fangirl than me. She's works for a publisher that works in the same building as Trisha and I.

"Devina, it's your father. Call me when you get this. It's important. Unless you want to see your brother and sister later today, I suggest you call me back." My father Max says. My eyes widen when he says that if I don't call him back then I will have to see my siblings. He knows how much I despise them. For me to explain why I hate my siblings is for me to explain why I have an almost eleven year old son when I'm only twenty nine years old. It is quite possibly the biggest cover up that my family full of lawyers and politicians has ever pulled off.

"Well Lucas, I think this is you." Arthur says and I look out the window. We are already at his school. He unbuckles his seat belt and Zeke gets out of the car. I follow after them and stand at the sidewalk. Zeke gives him a hug and as do I.

"Oh, don't forget that I have a parent teacher conference at four and I have soccer practice after school." Lucas says and turns to us.

"Do you have everything you need?" I ask being the motherly person I have grown into. Lucas nods and waves goodbye to us. He runs off to his friends while Zeke and I get back into the limo.

"What's wrong?" Zeke asks while putting an arm around me. "When you were listening to your messages, your eyes widened and you looked like you saw a ghost or something."

"Well, I got two confusing messages from Trisha and Skylar. They need to tell me something that they both know but they both want to tell me before the other and I really want to know what they are keeping from me…"

"And?" Zeke says while raising an eyebrow.

"And what? I cant be conflicted due to the fact that two of my best friends are keeping something from me? Why does there have to be something else?" I ask playing stupid.

"Devina Elizabeth Kingston, are you lying to your soon to be husband?" He asks "You know you cant lie to me. Being with you for eleven years has given me the power to know when you are lying."

"Fine. I also got a message from my father. He said that I need to call him back or else I will see Mark or Lucinda today." I say and he nods. "Why are you nodding?"

"Oh I'm just trying to picture you physically ripping off your siblings' heads. Don't forget to take pictures." He says and laughs. I push him and he just pulls me in closer. "Okay. I know you were thinking about it. But seriously… its been eleven years. Don't you think it's time to let it go and forgive them?" He asks. I know he means well, but my family isn't like his. We don't do charity work, we cover up things and dig holes; we push our problems away until we can no longer see them.

"Zeke, you know I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Why not? They abandoned our brother! They said 'I don't want that pest' to a baby! They were heartless and evil. Not to mention how they tried to take the baby and give it up for adoption without my consent. Mark and Lucinda are two of the most malevolence and inhumane people I have ever met in my entire life and my family is in politics."

"But…" he starts cautiously. "You forgave your father…"

"That's different. He is Lucas' father and he is my father. Just because my mom died still doesn't give any of them the right to abandon a baby. I may have forgiven my father, but I will never forget his mistake."

"Okay. Just promise me I won't have to get a call from Uncle Charles saying that he had to arrest you for assault." He says and I just smile. I cuddle up next to him which makes me smile even more. "You know, you're pretty when you smile. You should show it to your siblings when you see them. Let them know what they're missing."

"You know, you're cute when you're trying to get me to do things I don't want to do." I say and wink at him.

"Miss Kingston. We're here." Arthur says.

"Okay. Thank you." I say and look up at Zeke. "Have a good day at the office. Save New York Superman." I give him a kiss and I get my bag and get out of the limo. I'm at the courthouse and then I remember I have to get out of mommy and wife mode and into kick ass lawyer mode. I walk up the stairs and checked my watch. 8:30 AM and court starts at nine. Oh well, at least it leaves time to get prepared. I'm starting a case while I'm defending Bradley Borax against sexual assault charges. Of course this guy with a name that even makes him sound like a douche bag did it, poor college kid, but nevertheless, I have to defend him and if I get my way, like I always do, he will be off the hook in about fifteen minutes. I sit in my chair and take out the file and go over it one last time. This case has so many holes in it, I take it back. I'll be out of here in five minutes. People are starting to filter in, as well as the district attorney. I don't have a co-chair, but since my assistant Nadi got her law degree, I've been giving her experience. I let her sit there, take notes and learn from the best. I feel a tap on my shoulder and it's Nadi. She's a tall brown haired girl with professional cloths on. Her hair is in a high ponytail and her make up is very college like.

"Hey. Sorry. Am I late?" She asks and I shake my head.

"No, the defendant isn't even here yet. So we're good. Come on, I want you to meet someone." I say and stand up. I walk over to the DA's table and there sits my opponent. She has been my enemy ever since law school at Columbia. She hates me, but I can't blame her. She has always been the two to my one. She was tall with black hair and had a grey suit on. I didn't know the man next to her; he seemed to be Asian, but a good looking Asian. He had a nice black suit on and appeared to be sweating.

"Hello Arabella. I would like to introduce you to Nadia Dane. Nadia, Arabella Campbell." I say and signal towards her. They shake hands and exchange smiles. "Is this your co-chair?"

"No this is Sam Richardson. The defendant." She says shocked and so am I. If my defendant is a guy and this is a guy, it makes my job so much easier. I am so happy right now, it's going to be like taking candy from a baby. I turn around and Bradley is entering.

"Well, good luck Arabella." I say and turn. I sit back down in my chair and Bradley sits next to Nadi. I look at him and he looks calm and collected. I check my watch which reads 8:55 AM. I stand up and walk to Bradley's left side. He is a tall white blonde haired guy who reeks of a fraternity house full of Axe spray and Pizza. "Bradley… are you gay?"

"What?" He asks defensively "no…"

"Then why is the defendant a man?" I ask and he looks confused. He looks over at Sam and he looks very bewildered. "You've never seen him?"

"No. I thought it was a girl names Sam, not a guy." He says and we are both very confused. The bailiff finally enters and the room goes quiet.

"All rise for Judge Addams" He says and we all rise. Judge Addams sits down and bangs his gavel.

"You may be seated. So this is the court case of New York V. Borax Pre-trial" Judge Addams begins "Defendant, plead your case."

"Your Honor. My client, Sam Richardson. He has accused Mr. Borax of sexually assaulting him at fraternity party. Mr. Richardson has taken it to the campus police, but no one has brought it to any attention due to the large amount of funds the family gives to the school. My client just wants this man to pay for the crimes he committed."

"Okay Ms. Campbell. Ms. Kingston, the floor is yours." Judge Addams says and I stand. I look at Arabella, Sam and then Bradley.

"Judge Addams, this is all a case on he said she said, or in this case he said-he said. We don't know who did what and what has been done. My client is not gay, ask his many ex-girlfriends as well as his current girlfriend. The DA has no evidence whatsoever to prove that Mr. Borax, my client did anything of the sorts. The DA's case is not just taking in his reputation, but Mr. Borax's family's reputation. That of which, I would object to if this were a plausible court case. The DA lacks evidence and motive for my client. Your honor, I do not even see a remote reason as to which to bring this case to trial." I say and look at Judge Addams. He looks like he is thinking and I know I'm about to win.

"I agree Ms. Kingston. There is no case here, as you said, it is a he said-he said situation. Ms. Campbell, the next time I see you please have a better strategy to plead your case but not just t save me time, but the rest of the courts time as well. Case dismissed." Judge Addams says and pounds the gavel.

"All rise for Judge Addams." The bailiff says and they all rise. I can't help but smile. I turn to my table and pack my bag. I turn to Bradley who is now standing right in front of me. He gives me a hug and I am shocked.

"Thank you." He says and smiles at me. Typical white boy needs to learn to read the left finger and see that I am engaged.

"Your welcome Bradley. The next time I see you, please make it be on better circumstances." I say and he nods. He leaves the room with a young girl at his side and I smile. "So Nadi, you have a two hour lunch. I have things to do so you have until lunch off."

"Okay, I can help you." She says and I just shake my head.

"Nadi, you're my soon to be colleague, not my assistant. I'm a big girl, I can do things by myself."

"Okay… I'll see you at the office." She says and leaves the room. I finish packing my bag and I leave the room. I need to go see my dad, City hall is only three blocks away, and I can walk. I walk up to City Hall stairs, oh the stairs; so many of them just to get up to the entrance. I take out my phone which reads I have three unheard messages from; Lucas' teacher, Zeke and yet another phone call from my father. Why didn't he ever call this much the first five years of Lucas' life?

"Hello Ms. Kingston. It's Mrs. Ross, Lucas' teacher. I just wanted to remind you that Lucas' parent teacher conference is today at 4PM at the school. Hope to see you then." Mrs. Ross says through the phone.

"Hey Babe, I know I just saw you but I think I forgot to tell you to knock em' dead today in court. Remember to have fun, you chose this career because you love it, not just for the money. I love you." Zeke says as I move onto the next message.

"Devina, Call me back. It's important. I'll be in my office all day. Come by; call, text, you can even send a pigeon. Just get back to me and soon." My father says through the phone. I turn my head and there is a picture of him, smiling for his official portrait of the governor position. I remember the day he first called me to stand at his side because he was running for governor. He said he wanted his family at his side. Of course, I could bring Lucas, because as far as New York knew, my mother and my brother died and I was four months pregnant at the time. It was probably the biggest cover up the Kingston family had even done, and they're all in politics. My family history is complicated.

I went to the elevator and I pressed the button. I stood there for a minute pondering the possibilities why my father has to talk to me so urgently. The doors open and I press the 5th floor button.

"Hold the door please!" I hear someone yell and I put my hand in between the doors and it opens up. I stick my head out of the door and in comes running a man who is in a black suit. I know him, it's Theo.

"Hey D. Thanks for holding the door." He says as he enters the elevator. He was very tall and had dark brown hair. He was really muscular and had a five 'o' clock shadow, but nothing out of the ordinary with him. His full name is Theodore Dane, Trisha's husband. He is also Zeke's best friend. They first met in college when the both joined the same fraternity Beta Sigma Phi at Columbia. He's a good change for Zeke. Zeke is very funny, hang loose and have fun type, but Theo is that toned down like five notches from Zeke's level.

The doors closed and he might know what that super secret thing is. "Hey, do you know what your wife has to tell me? She said that she has something to tell me and then I got another phone call for Sky saying that she shouldn't tell me."

"Oh that thing? I can't tell you." He says and smiles. He may be a lot of things because he works for the city but, he is as loyal as a dog.

"Why not?" I ask and raise my eyebrow.

"because she's my wife… and she threatened to take my cake if I told you." He said. Man loves his cake.

"Fine, but just give me a hint."

"Nope… are we still on for Friday?" He asks. I assume that he is talking about our weekly Friday night dinners. Something I started when we were all in college. I never wanted to go out partying so Zeke and I normally stayed home with Lucas. We watched movies or did whatever seemed fun at the time. Eventually, all of our friends just tagged along and I would cook and we would all just hang out. Now it's hard to go a week without one.

"Of course…" I say and the doors open. I wave to him and go to Zeke's office. It's down a long hallway, oh the energy it takes to walk. I pass by a lot of desks and I have to say hi to them, it would be rude not to. This floor knows me because they have been here for all of Zeke's term as senator. I finally get to the doors of his office and reach for the door knob.

"Excuse me ma'am. You can't go in there." A small girl says with a cup of coffee in her hand and files in another.

"And why not?" I ask and turn around. "Who are you?"

"Noelle Davis. Senator Parker's new assistant." She says while pushing up her glasses. "Do you have an appointment to see him?"

"Do you even know who I am? What happened to… what's his name… Frank… Jacob…"

"You mean Daniel?" She asks. She's very small and scrawny. She has short blonde hair and I caught a glimpse of a tattoo on her collar bone. "He went back to college. He said he was inspired by Senator Parker to be a lawyer."

"Oh well, I am Devina Kingston. I'm Zeke's…"

"Wait… Kingston?"

"Yes… why?"

"As in Governor Kingston? He's in with the senator right now." She says and that's when I heard glass smash. I opened the door and there is my father and Zeke screaming at each other.

"What the hell are you two doing?!" I yell and they both look at me. I turn and look at Noelle and she looks scared. "Noelle, give me these. Go take your break or something." I say and take the files from her. She leaves and closes the door behind her. I walk to Zeke's desk and put the files down.

"Devina…" my father starts and I shake my head. I look at the wall and I see the shattered glass on the floor with liquid stains on the wall.

"These were an antique set that I got from Germany!" I yell at both of them. I walk to the both of them and sit in their chairs. I stand my Zeke and put a hand on his shoulder. "Now what the hell are you two screaming about?" I ask and Zeke looks down and shakes his head. I look at my father and he looks directly at me but doesn't speak. "Someone better say something before I make both of your political reputations look like a joke."

"Max, think you need to tell her, because I sure as hell am not going to get yelled at for your decision."

"What decision?" I ask and raise my eyebrow to my dad. "Dad…"

"I was thinking, since I have come to the end of my second term… I was thinking… after I finish… I could…"

"Oh for the love of God Dad! Will you just spit it out?"

"I was asked to be on the board of the Department of Justice. In Washington… D.C."

"Wait, I don't get it."

"At the end of this year, I will be moving to D.C." My father says and I am appalled. What about me… the practice… and most of all… Lucas.

"Absolutely not… Veto."

"Veto? You can't Veto my decisions, I am your father!"

"Yes, and you know who's father you are also? Lucas'. Are you forgetting about him?"

"I'm not his father. That position is filled by Zeke. I was never his father; I am only your, Mark's and Lucinda's."

"Oh don't even bring up the siblings from hell. The deal was you are involved in his life, but legally, Lucas is our son. You can't just leave him."

"Devina, every time I see him, I feel the pain that I felt when the doctor told us she was gone. I feel the pain of that day when I buried her and it was still alive. He is the reason she is dead! I have made my decisions, and you have made yours. Stop being so childish and deal with your consequences!" He yells at me and starts towards the door. I walk to it but at a faster pace and step in front of him.

"I'm childish? You are the one who is running away rather than be an adult and face your demons. He is your son whether you like it or not. She would be ashamed to say you were her husband. If she ever saw you act like this, she would've taken back her love and left you. If she saw the monster you have become she would've killed you herself." I said to him and BAM! I fell to the floor and before I knew it, Zeke was at my side. He hit me.

"Devina, I am so sorry…" My father tried consoling me. Zeke pushed him away before I had the chance to.

"No!" Zeke said. "How dare you. You disgrace our son and you hit D. What the hell is wrong with you?" Zeke yelled at him.

"I have to go back to work. Is that all you had to say to me?" I ask pushing myself away from Zeke.

"No, I invited you siblings to the wedding. Along with their partners. Make room for four more." He said "it's time to let go and forgive."

"You're one to talk." I say "Goodbye Governor Kingston. I'll see you at the wedding." I open the door and he leaves. I slam it shut and Zeke pulls me into his embrace. I can't believe he hit me. I can't believe he's leaving. I can't believe that my siblings are coming to my wedding. Oh this day can not get any worse.

Zeke wipes away my tears and still hugs me. We move to the couch and we just sit there for a while. No matter how hard life gets or how rough the days are, we will always end up back here. In each other's arms protecting them from anything and everything we deem evil.


	2. Chapter 2

Coming In Waves

Chapter 2: Zeke

I take in her embrace; she's so small and wonderful. She's about nine inches shorter than me, but it doesn't matter. We lie on the couch and just think about what's to come. I can't believe that Max hit her. He wasn't that kind of dad when I first started dating her. I saw the way he looked at her, like she was his pride and joy. He loved her so much and he would protect her from anything. I would never believe that he would inflect her with pain. I didn't think he was capable. It crossed my mind that I could hit him but i knew that Devina would never forgive me if I did that, so I just comforted her because that was the one thing I was sure she needed.

"I need to clean up the glass. It's going to hurt someone." I say and she nods not lifting her head from my chest. Her long brown hair is falling just in front of her face.

"I have to go to the office… It's 11:30." She says while looking at her watch. "And I have to have lunch with the girls at one."

"Are we going to talk about what your father said?" I ask cautiously. I know that I am her family and I am Lucas' father, this is all Devina's call because this is her situation, I am just her plus one.

She gets up and sits between my legs. I push back her hair and she closes her eyes. "I don't know what to do. He's right. We are Lucas' parents; nothing is going to change that. But I always had this idea that we would be his parents and my father would be, at least, the cool and important grandfather."

"I know…"

"And how could he leave him? I still don't understand that! He was an innocent baby."

"Devina…" I say compassionately.

"And he hit me! He slapped me in the face! He hasn't done that since Lucas was born and before then, never. Not once. Even when I got and F on my test or I stayed out past my curfew. What the hell is wrong with him?"

"I know…"

"He invited my siblings to my wedding! How dare he! He has no right! I mean my wedding. My big day! I don't mean to go all bridezilla on everyone, but it's an unspoken rule that it is the brides' day! God Damn it! Why cant people just follow the fucking rules?!" She yells. She stood up about mid-way and now she's pacing around my office. I was still sitting on the couch just watching her. She needs to get it all out before she can think rationally. "And why didn't you tell me Frank quit? I mean, that is something you should share with your wife."

"Who's frank?" I ask very confused. How in the world did her anger shift towards me?

"I mean… what's his face… Denny."

"Danny?" I ask and she nods. She stopped pacing and I stand up. I walk to her and she stays with her eyes on me. "Babe, come on. Let's just talk about what's really going on here."

"What do you think?" She asks and I move my hand to brush m fingers through her hair. She closes her eyes and feels my touch.

"I think we might want to consider the option of telling him…" I say and her eyes open.

"No." She says and moves towards the wall where I threw the glass of scotch that unfortunately missed Max's head. She kneels down and starts picking up pieces of glass. I walk over to her and she is shaking her head. "Devina…"

"We can't do that to him. He's eleven, he's not ready." She says and continues to shake her head. "He is our son and we have to protect him from things like this…"

"We can't protect him form everything…" I say and she stands up with her hand full of glass. She throws it in the trash and I do the same. She walks to the pictures on the bookshelf, the one's of our friends and family. She walks past the pictures of us on spring break in college before her mom died. We went to the Hamptons and just spent the entire time secluded from all the Sorority and Fraternity rival war and just hung out at her place. We did go out clubbing and all that jazz but it was just us and our friends having fun. This picture is one that Skylar's husband Derek took of us. It was us in the sunroom just reading.

She passed all of the pictures of us meeting the president, meeting Beyonce and every other famous person we come in contact with at whatever charity event Devina drags us to that week. She finally stopped at the one when we took Lucas to his kindergarten class, the day he started Hudson River Academy. I was only 24 and just starting Law School and she was finishing up her senior year. Lucas was excited… Devina was an emotional wreck. She picked up the picture of all three of us at the front of the school, him with the superman lunchbox and everything.

"Do you remember this day? The day he let go of our hand and we had to watch him go off to class without us?" She asks while touching his face. I hugged her from the back and kissed her shoulder.

"Of course I do. It was the day it finally clicked that my son would eventually have to grow up and we would have to let him make his own decisions." I say and she puts the picture down. She turns around but my arms never leave her. "We have to tell him Devina, we have to let him be a grown up."

"He's eleven…" She pleads.

"Okay… if not this year, at what age do you think he'll be able to sustain this bomb?"

"Zeke…" She says and touches my cheek "If my father leaves, I will not tell him. We will not tell him. If he wants to get out, he'll be out. But he's not going to be allowed back into out lives."

"It's Max's decision. We can keep it from Lucas if you want, but when we make this decision, there is no going back on it." I say and I'm serious. We will not have people move in and out of our lives with the possibility of ruining it. I will not live in constant fear.

"We don't tell Lucas and we let Max decide whatever the hell he wants to do." She says and I nod. "I have to get to work… so many things to do and so little time." She kisses me and I kiss back.

"Go save New York Superwoman." I say and she releases herself from my embrace. She grabs her bag and blows me a kiss. She leaves my office and I go back to my desk and I read the files that she got from Noelle. Shit… Noelle.

I pick up the phone and call her desk phone. "Hey Noelle, can you come in here for a sec?"

"Okay Senator Parker." She replies and about a minute later, she's sitting in front of my desk. It's like I'm a principle and she's a fourth grader.

"So, I'm sure you have some questions regarding the fiasco that just happened."

"It's none of my business." She says and shakes her head.

"Noelle, I may be your boss, but I don't like all the formality. You can call me Zeke instead of Senator Parker. Now, I know you must be curious. It's only human nature, something that I have noting against."

"Okay, I only have a couple of questions… first off, who is that scary woman that just left?" She asks and I just laugh. I forget sometimes that Devina is this whole other person to the rest of the world.

"Are you not from around here?" I ask and she shyly shakes her head. "That is Devina Kingston, My fiance and the mother of my eleven year old son." I say and hand her a picture of Lucas. She seemed very shocked. "it was quite a scandal here. About eleven years, Devina's mother dies while giving birth to her brother. They both died, but at the time, Devina was already three months pregnant. We were college kids and we decided to have the baby. His name is Lucas."

"That didn't interfere with your career?" She asked. I can tell that she isn't accustomed to this. "I mean, you're a senator. Is she a stay at home mom?" I laugh at this. Just the image of my Devina sitting at home and becoming, well, her sister.

"Devina isn't…" I start and try to subside my laughter. "She's both the Cadwell and the Kingston of Cadwell, Kingston and Partners. The best law firm in New York."

"How can she be both?"

"Well, her mother and Father started a law firm together and Max went into politics and Lorelei , her mother was the top litigator in the state."

"Interesting… Well, what's your family history?"

"My family isn't as complicated as hers. I have a brother, Randall. He works for the family foundation, to which my parents are on the board of. My family is all over the place, not in just one thing. Like D's family is all in Law and Politics, My family is everywhere. Anymore questions?"

"No, do you need help with the wedding? Any plans that need my assistance on?"

"nope, everything is handled." I say "Well Noelle, I hope we work together far a long time, well at least until you decide to leave me to peruse the bigger and better." I say and she nods. She stands up and walks towards the door.

"If you need anything, I'll be at my desk."

"I'll try not to need you." I say and she leaves. I got back to the act on Same Sex Marriage. I agree with it. Everyone should be allowed to love who their heart leads them to. I'm glad mine found Devina and I couldn't imagine another day without her being my wife.

It's weird that all of our friends are married but Devina and I have been together longer. We always said it didn't matter because we already felt married. We had an eleven year old together; we have a house and a whole new world we built together. Marriage is just a piece of paper because our hearts already chose.

I was reading the file for a good hour, making my usual pro and con list. I went back and forth with the piece of paper. Noelle had probably given me about three cups a coffee within the time span. This can go so many different ways; I need to consult with Bradley, the other New York senator. He was forty already and was getting old. He has a nice family, a wife and two kids. I got the file all together right when Xavier came in.

"Hey Big bro, quick favor." He says while bursting into my office. Noelle came in along with him, attempting to tell him that he wasn't suppose to go in without her checking with me first. Poor girl, this is the third person who did this today.

Xavier is a tall guy with blonde hair and blue eye, which was a lot like our mother. He was always like me personality wise, a goofball on the outside but our secret is, when we're passionate about something, there's no stopping us. X is and will always be my little brother. No matter how successful he is or how many times he travels around the world. He works for the Parker Foundation as the funds director. The Parker foundation is the family charity corporation. He travels around the world when he can to help out at a lot of the third world country sites. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Josephine or Jelly as she likes people to call her. She's a fashion designer along with our friend Marcella. Their company is called Countless Navigations. They are all, in some way, incorporated in our lives.

"What do you need X?" I ask cautiously. Whenever he needs something, it's always a dangerous business. Its such a broad spectrum with him because he could ask you many different things that can get you in many different scenarios.

"Well." He says sitting on the couch I have in my office. "The charity Gala for the children in Kenya is this Thursday"

"Point please X, I need to get these to Bradley's office by the end of the day." I say picking up the file and standing up to walk to the door. "Walk with me… and then we'll swing back to see Theo."

"The day before your rehearsal dinner and I'm afraid that I'm taking the spot light from your special day…" He says as I walk down the hallway.

"Its fine X. D and I will be there along with Lucas."

"Good. Mom has been complaining that she never gets to see him. Dad too."

"Well, the door is always open to them too. They can come by if they're in my neck of the woods." I say as we come to his office. I pass the doors separating the desks from his office.

"Hey Zeke." His assistant Hilary says to me. "He's in with someone right now. What do you need?"

"Can you give him this file? I made a pro and con list and I want to know his stance on the matter. We leave for D.C in three weeks and we have to have these things ready…" I say and she nods.

"Who's this?" She asks taking the file."

"This is my brother Xavier." I say pointing to X.

"Hello Xavier. He wants your stance on these matters as well." She says giving me a piece of paper. "I was about to give it to your new assistant. I just got really busy…"

"It's fine. Thanks Hilary." I say and X and I leave the room. We walk to the elevators and we push the button.

"So is Max coming too?"

"We aren't really on speaking terms as of the moment…" I say and cringe my teeth a little. He doesn't press me about it right now because he knows I rarely ever get upset about things.

"So, are you excited?"

"About the wedding? I mean, I guess. Devina and I just wanted to elope but the families want this big charade. I just want to go for the cake. And well, to finally call D my wife." I say and I blush a little. D, my wife, sounds perfect. The doors open and we head to Theo's office. He deals with the Parks and recreations of New York. His job is so fun and cool. He's really into nature and all that crap. So when he found Trisha, it was like his dream girl. We finally get to his office and knock on the door.

"Come in." he yells through the door. He was playing with this diagram, I guess for a new park they plan on building. He looks like a kid in the candy store. "What are you two doing here?"

"I'm almost done with my files and X came just to verify that we were all coming on Thursday." I said and he moved a tree a little to the left.

"What would happen if Zeke and I were to accidentally trip and land on your new toy?" X asks with a joking tone.

"Then I will shoot you." He says with his eyes glaring at us.

"We won't do it." I said and he stopped glaring at us. "What's your day like today?"

"Well, I have to finish up this diagram and then I have a few papers to fill out. But I'll be done in about an hour. What did you have in mind?"


	3. Chapter 3

Coming in Waves

Chapter 3: Devina

Once I left Zeke's office, I had to call Arthur to pick me up because my office is thirteen blocks away. I stood there just checking the many different e-mails, filtering out the spam from the important stuff.

"Hello Devina." A man said and I knew that voice. I turn around and there he is wearing a blue suit with nice shoes, probably Italian. He looked like the same man that I knew while growing up, but he isn't at all. He is the man who turned into a monster eleven years ago, my brother Mark. Attached to him was some brunette bimbo that was wearing a very revealing dress, something you don't put on before lunchtime.

I am absolutely disgusted. He was supposed to be far away, very far away. I'd like to say about three thousand miles away. He lives in California along with prestigious hospital and his annoyingly perfect life and he needs to go back to it before I rip off his head along with his supermodel girlfriend. "What do you want Dr. Hell?"

"Oh I knew I was going to get an insult, but I just thought it would be whiter." He said with his smug smile.

"Are you serious? I shouldn't even be talking to you. You're lucky I haven't had you killed." I say "You better leave me alone before I change my mind."

"Well, I guess the senators daughter isn't very hospitable to out of towners."

"You're not a fucking out of towner. You're New York born and raised unfortunately. What the hell are you doing here anyway? Wait. Don't answer that. I cut ties with you a long time ago, so why don't you get the hell away from me." I say to him and turn around. Right then, Arthur pulled up and I started to walk to the car.

"Devina! Wait!" I hear Mark yell but that only made me walk faster. I got in the car and I closed the door behind me.

"Ma'am? To the office?" Arthur asked and I nodded. He drove off and I didn't look back. I looked at my phone and I contemplated calling Zeke, but I didn't want to hassle him. I sat in the car just watching as the skyscrapers blend together. We finally pulled up to the office and I was so disconnected that I didn't even know we stopped.

"Devina. We're here." Arthur said which snapped me out of my daze.

"Thank you Arthur. Lucas' parent teacher conference is at four. Can you pick me up around three thirty?"

"Of course." He responded and I got out of the limo. I walked towards the doors and stepped into the building. I work in the empire state building, so there are people everywhere in the lobby. I go to the elevator and pressed the 78th floor button. The doors closed and the elevator started to move. I looked at my phone and the time read 12:09. The elevator doors open and I walk to my office. I pass the receptionist desk which was run by Marcy smiled and waved, like everyone else in the office. This is not the place where you make friends and pull pranks on the co-workers. It's a law firm and I keep it as such. Last year, my father gave me the birthday present of co-ownership of the company. I walked past many office just to reach mine.

"Oh Devina, may I have a word?" Jefferson asks pushing his head out of his office door. He was one of the partners of the firm.

"Sure Jefferson. Come on into my office." I say and he nods. I walk to my office door and I open it. There was the lobby area before my office, where Nadi normally works, but I guess she's going to need her own office now. I walk into my office and everything is very neat, just the way I like it. My office overlooks the entire city and it is very large. I like to keep everything spaced out, the drinks section at the far right, the floor to ceiling bookshelves I use to keep case studies in, except for the middle shelf where I keep all the pictures of my life. However, something is out of place, the French glass set. Two cups are missing. I look to the corner of my office where the couch is and there sits a woman in a purple sundress and a man in a grey suit that I do not recognize. I however know who the woman is quite clearly. Her long brown hair pushed back with a headband and her make up done perfectly to hide her bitchy attitude she hides behind every fucking fake smile.

"What the fuck are you doing in my office?!" I yell at them and they look startled.

"Devina…" Lucinda begins.

"Jefferson, we can schedule a meeting later. I have some heads to cut off." I say to him and he nods. He closes the door behind him and I drop my bag and sit at my desk. "What the fuck is this? Did you and Mark plan this? Is this some sort of ploy to get me to make nice with the both of you?"

"Devina…"

"And what the fuck is this? Your pet?"

"I'm Walden. Lucinda's husband." He says in a proud tone. Little does he know that I hate my sister so that doesn't give him any creditability with me, actually, it gives him less.

"Is that suppose to mean something to me?" I ask and in that same moment Mark and his bimbo show up unannounced. I mean, this is a business, my business and I will not have them ruin it.

"Devina… I was trying to have a conversation with you." Mark says looking at me. His eyes drift towards the couch. "Lucinda? Walden?"

"Great. Now that we know each others names, you can all leave." I say in my angry tone that isn't artificial.

"I'm Mary…" The brown haired bimbo finally speaks. Of course her name is ironic, like her life. I'm not surprised that people don't call her Magdalene Mary.

"And I need to know that why?" I say. "Get out before I throw you all out the window."

"Devina, we all need to talk…" Lucinda says

"I don't give two shits about what you have to say. You need to leave, now. You walked out of my life once, it wouldn't be that hard to do it again."

"I can see that you have some hostility towards us…"

"No bitch. I am way past the line of hostility and I transferred into plotting your fucking death. I will tell you one last time to get out before I have security throw you out." I say and then my desk phone rings.

"Devina, don't answer that." Mark says.

"Don't tell me what to do, you lost that privilege a long time ago. Around the time that you decided to leave me with a fucking baby." I yell at him and answer the phone. "What!"

"Hello Mrs. Parker. I'm Nurse Galinda at Hudson River Academy. I need you to pick up Lucas as soon as possible."

"What happed to him? Is he hurt?" I ask in a terrified tone.

"He took a fall and he cut the back of his head. I don't know if he needs stitches but I think it would be best if you take him to the hospital. Can you be here in about twenty minutes?"

"Yes, of course. I'll be there as soon as I can." I say gathering my things. I get my cell phone and I dial Zeke's number.

"Devina… what's wrong?" Mark asks me as he follows me down the hallway as the rest of them follow. I don't have time to deal with them; I need to get my son. Zeke isn't picking up his desk phone. Where the hell is Noelle?

"Nothing that hasn't bothered you in the past eleven years." I say pressing the elevator button.

"What's wrong with Charles?" Lucinda asks.

"Who the fuck is Charles?" I yell at her. "My son's fucking name is Lucas you dumb shit." The elevator doors open and they all get in. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"We're going with you…" Walden says. What an ignorant fool.

"Who even are you? I'm taking the stairs. Don't follow me." I say and the elevator doors close. I walk to the stairs doorway and down two flights of stairs. I'm now in Trisha's psychiatrist office.

"D? What are you doing here? We don't have lunch until one…" She says and then looks at my face. "What happened?"

"Lucas fell and he might need stitches. I need to pick him up and Zeke isn't answering his phone and my siblings are here and my dad and I are fighting…" I ramble.

"Okay. Calm down. One thing at a time. First things first, we need to call Arthur to pick you up. You do that and I'll get a hold of Zeke. Come on, we'll get Sky and we'll all go." She says and gets her stuff from her office. We get to the elevators and we go down about three floors to get Skylar. She works for the publishing corporation and is one of the head executives. Once Trish told her what was going on, she was out the door with us. Arthur was pulling the car around and I still need to get a hold of Zeke.

"Hello Superwoman. What's up?" He asks while I heard the keyboard typing in the background.

"Where the hell have you been?! I have been trying to get a hold of you for the past ten minutes!" 

"Devina, what's wrong?"

"Lucas cut his head at school and he might need stitches. Arthur is pulling the car around now. Do you want me to pick you up?"

"What?! Is he okay? What happened?"

"I don't know Zeke, all I know is that he has a cut on his head and I need to know if I need to pick you up."

"Yes, pick me up. I'll be outside in five minutes."

"Arthur still hasn't pulled around yet. Just wait ten and then come out."

"Xavier and Theo should come too. Wait, Xavier took his car here, we'll just meet you at the school."

"Okay."

"Babe, he's going to be fine. We just need to remain calm." He says which eases me a little.

"Hun, Arthur just pulled up. Trish, Sky and I will meet you at the school." I say and walk to the car "Don't forget to call Jelly and Marcella. They'll want to be there."

"Okay… I'll see you there. I love you."

"Love you too." I say and hang up. The girls and I get settled in and we make out way to Lucas' school. We sat in the car just watching the city. Thank God we didn't hit traffic because I would have killed someone if there was.

"So… I need to tell you something." Trisha said pulling my attention towards her.

"No you don't." Skylar said. "We don't need to tell you anything."

"You know how she hates surprises."

"Well, she's just going to have to deal. We're not telling her."

"Okay, you two need to stop talking about me in third person while I'm right here. Will you just tell me?"

"Nope… now what is this about your siblings from hell?" Skylar responded.

"Oh, so apparently, my father invited them to my wedding. I was going to uninvite them later on today. I would've had someone call them for me. But apparently, they're already here."

"Well, what are you going to do?" Trisha asks me. "You cant kill them, I will not let my nephew visit his mother in jail."

"That's the thing. Lucinda didn't even know his name. They have no idea what my life is like."

"Do you think they'll tell Lucas the truth?" Skylar asks. All of our friends know that Lucas isn't my son, but they have all take on the roles of aunts and uncles due to the fact that my real siblings are a bunch of fuckers.

"If they know what's good for them, they wont." I say as we pull up to Lucas' school. We get out of the car and make our way to the office. I know this school very well, I use to go here. We walk down a bunch of hallways and finally get to the nurse's office.

"Hello, I'm Lucas Parkers' mother." I say and then I hear Xavier's laugh. I walk into the room and there is Xavier, Theo and Zeke all laughing while Lucas is on the table just lying down.

"Hey babe." Zeke said with the following "Hey Devina" coming from Xavier and Theo. I walk to Lucas' side and look at his head. His brown hair has a little bit of blood on it, as well as his uniform. "We need to take him to Derek. It looks like it needs stitches."

"What the hell happened Lucas?" I ask him and stand up.

"I was playing soccer and I went for the ball and I missed and my head hit something hard. Everyone took me to the nurse and then they called you." Lucas said while sitting up. "I'm a little dizzy."

"I would assume so." I said helping him to his feet. "Come on, Arthur will take us to the hospital." We walk out of the room and we are in the doorway when I feel someone touch my arm.

"Mrs. Parker…" I turn around and there is Nurse Galinda.

"Not quite yet…" I respond and Zeke laughs.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I need you to sign Lucas out." She says handing me a piece of paper. I signed my name and printed Lucas'. "Thank you."

"Why isn't anyone here?" I ask. "The classrooms are empty and the teachers are just sitting.

"Everyone was released about ten minutes ago. It was a half day due to the parent teacher conferences."

"Oh right, Lucas' parent teacher conference." I say smacking my forehead. "Sky, can you take Lucas to the car? Zeke and I have to reschedule the conference."

"Okay." Skylar said and we parted ways. Skylar and Trisha walked Lucas down the hall along with Xavier and Theo while Zeke and I walked to Mrs. Ross' room. We knocked on the door and she wasn't with anyone right now.

"Mrs. Ross?" I ask stepping in. "We're Lucas' parents. We have to reschedule the parent teacher conference."

"oh I know. I put you two down for tomorrow at three. Is that okay?" She asks. She's a short blonde haired woman. She was dressed very conservative, just the way my mother used to dress. A buttoned up sweater and a skirt cutting off mid-calf with her hair in a side ponytail.

"That's good for me." Zeke says. "Do you have court then?"

"No, I don't have any court cases tomorrow. I'm taking the day off to finalize the wedding details. Good thing too because Lucas will probably not be in school tomorrow."

"Oh, that's fine. We're just working on the family tree project." Mrs. Ross says.

"You guys are going a family tree project?" I ask

"Yes, I assigned it today. It's due at the end of the week. Since it was a shot day all week type of thing, I want them to be all pretty and have lots of pictures and decorations."

"Okay, we have to get going. We'll see you tomorrow Mrs. Ross." Zeke said and I waved goodbye. We walked down the hallway with his arm around my shoulder like we were a high school couple walking to fourth period. Theo, Trisha and Xavier and Skylar were all just talking outside doors of the limo.

"Hey, I called Derek and he's waiting for us in the ER." Skylar said.

"Thanks Sky. Well, we better get going." I said and went into the car. Trish and Skylar rode with Xavier and Theo while Lucas rode with us. We sat I silence while Lucas put his head on my lap. I stroked his hair and he just sat there.

"So, the siblings of hell are in the city and they came to see me." I whispered to Zeke and once I did, he was immediately angered.

"What the hell do they think they're doing? I mean, they cant move miles away and expect to be welcomed back with open arms."

"I thought you wanted me to make amends with them…"

"I meant gradually. They bombarded you with all this shit in one day." He yelled slash whispered.

"Okay Zeke, calm down. None of us are dead. I'm telling you because I think they'll try to talk to you too. I want them to leave the city. If they go near Lucas, I will kill them." I say looking down at him. He fell asleep and his breaths evened. Zeke and I were silent for a moment just looking at him. Eleven years ago, we thought he was a burden that we had to take on. Now, we look at him and we thank God for this blessing. He has changed Zeke and I both for the better. We became parents and it all paying off, the sleepless nights, the changing diapers every two minutes. I see it all as stepping stones for what Lucas has done; get good grades, find his passion for soccer and not just that. Every time he smiles or laughs, is the time for us to get satisfaction that we are good parents. "I wont let them mess this up. They don't belong in my life, in our lives."

"Okay, they're as good as gone. They are not allowed at our wedding either. It's your day and I don't want you stressing about them."

"How did I get so lucky to have you?" I ask while stroking his hair. He kissed my hand and I just smiled. We sat in silence for the rest of the drive to Bellevue.

"Ma'am, we're here." Arthur says as he pulls up to the entrance of the hospital. Zeke carries Lucas out of the car and we make out way to the front desk.

"Oh dear." I nurse says in animal scrubs.

"Oh no, he's just sleeping. He took a fall today at school and we had to take him to the hospital." I said to her and turned to Lucas "Lucas honey. Wake up." I touched his arm and he slowly starts to wake up.

"Mom?" I hear Lucas say as he stands on his own.

"Hold on babe. Uncle Derek is on his way." I say and in that same moment Theo and the rest of them come to the front desk, along with Marcella, Will and Jelly. The run to his side and touch his face.

Marcella and Jelly walk in wearing black tight dresses while will is just wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Ironic because his wife is one of the biggest names in the fashion world and he is just wearing that. But you have to know Will to understand his style. His parents came from nothing and they sacrificed everything to get him to where he is now. He never finds it important to buy expensive things, which drives Marcella crazy but he deals with it.

Marcella and Jelly have been friends for forever, just like Skylar and I. Their fashion line, Countless Navigations, is amazing. It doesn't just dress for the red carpet; it also has things for everyday people. I admire them for broadening the spectrum for reasonable fashion.

"Lucas, are you okay?" Marcella asks hugging him, she's that kind of person.

"Yes Aunt Marcella. I'm just a little dizzy."

"Can we see Dr. Derek Dane?" I ask the nurse and in the same second, Derek comes through the doors.

"How's my favorite guy feeling." Derek asked walking towards Lucas.

"I'm feeling fine." Xavier said. We all looked at him with the same look that we always give him. The usual "why are you such an idiot?' look.

"Okay, let's get you in a bed. Did you fill out the paperwork yet?" Derek asks me.

"Nope. Not yet. Why don't you take Lucas? Zeke, can you go with him?" I ask and they disappear into the doors. I look to the nurse and she was just staring at me. "Can I have the paperwork?"

"Oh sure…" She said scrambling a bunch of papers onto a clipboard. "Isn't he Senator Parker?"

"Yes…" I say taking the clipboard from her.

"That must mean that you're Devina Kingston?"

"Yes…" I say a tad bit weirded out. I forget that the people around me are considered famous. I mean, Zeke is a senator, my fathers the governor, my friends are fashion designers. I never really thought about it like that.

"Well, your fiancé is going to be my hero. I have heard rumors that he is going to legalize gay marriage in New York."

"I'm sure that he would love to hear that. I'm glad to know that he is doing something great." I say and she nods.

"Well, we need you to fill out these forms and bring them back when you're finished." She says and I sit down in one of those uncomfortable hospital chairs that people hate waiting in. Trisha and the rest of them sat down in the surrounding chairs and made calls to their work and made sure that the world didn't fall to chaos.

The paperwork was standard. Fill out name, date of birth, any pre-existing conditions and sign at the bottom to relinquish your soul. I remember waiting here for my mom to give birth. When the doctor came into the room and told us that she was gone, my soul was crushed. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move. I don't know what would've happened if Zeke wasn't beside me at the time. He was there because he drove me to the hospital. We were at a party that night and I was wearing some skimpy dress that Marcella and Jelly designed together with high heels that made me taller than the empire state building. I was a completely different person then. If I saw that girl today, I wouldn't even know who it was.

"So, Derek took him in for a brain scan, just to make sure that everything is okay there." Zeke said while coming through the doors. "Are you done with those?"

"Yeah." I said giving him the clipboard. "You know guys, you didn't have to drop everything for Lucas."

"oh yes we did. Marcella and I were stuck in a budget meeting. I mean, it's our company. We know what we spend and we make the final say on every freaking thing. Why do we have to handle this as well?" Jelly said complaining. She was a medium height brown haired girl. Back in college, she dyed the inner layer of her hair purple just to piss off her parents. She came from a middle class family that never went to charity events or had to deal with crazy politics. Xavier pulled her into this world and now she has no way out. Those two are the goofiest, clumsiest people I know, they belong together.

"I know, but we have to do it. If we don't that we could go bankrupt." Marcella said hugging Will. Those two are polar opposites. Unlike X and Jelly, they always fight and they are like hot and cold. The thing is that what attracted them together in the first place. He dropped her books and then she yelled at him and told him that he should, as she put it, "look where you're fucking walking and stop thinking that you are a fucking God that gets to walk around like he is above everyone and that he needs to start thinking about himself as a fucking pretentious jackass that he is." Then he asked her to get coffee with him. They are very straight forward with each other which made them perfect together.

"Well, thank you." I said and Zeke comes back to the group with a big grin on his face. " I see you met the nurse."

"Yeah." He said brushing his fingers through his hair. "now I feel better."

"Good." I said as he sat in the chair right beside me. "So, is Lucas okay?"

"Oh. Derek just texted me that his scans were normal. They're going to get him stitched up." Skylar said looking up from her phone.

"Oh thank God." Trisha said looking at Zeke and me. I snuggled up next to him and he held my hand.

"Well, since we're all here. Reminders. My fundraiser is on Thursday and D and Zeke's rehearsal dinner is on Friday and Saturday is the wedding." Xavier says.

"Got it down in my calendar." Theo says. For a few minutes we were all just talking about what is the plans for the rest of the week. Then we moved onto telling hilarious stories about each other. Then Derek and Lucas came through the doors and we all stood up.

"He's gonna be fine." Derek says while toughing Lucas on the shoulder. "He's scans are normal and he's all stitched up. All ready to go home and eat ice cream."

"That's great." Zeke said and I walked up to him and knelt down.

"Lucas, I swear if I have to get you from here again, I'll kill you myself." I say and they all just laugh.

"Okay mom." He says in his eleven year old voice that is about to go through puberty.

"Well, isn't that remarkable?" I hear from across the room. A woman's voice and I know exactly who that is, Lucinda. "Mom huh?"

"What the hell are you doing here?" I say in a very angered tone.

"Oh Shit's about to go down." I hear from X and then a quick slap. I don't respond to it, my eyes are already locked on Lucinda and Mark who stands right behind her. They're lucky we're in a hospital right now. They are most likely going to need one.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Zeke

I turn around and there are the two people Devina hates most in the world. I haven't seen them since the last time I was in this hospital with all of the Kingston family. The night of Devina's mother, Elizabeth's death and the day we decided to adopt Lucas. Devina and her siblings were never that close. Lucinda and Mark were always in Devina's shadow and never came out of it. Her parents treated her like a princess while Lucinda and Mark were always just there. After Lucinda and Mark left, even before Elizabeth died, they were distant and I didn't even meet them till the Parker Foundation Fundraiser for an important cause that I don't currently recall. Their relationship was normally formal and cold. It got worse when Elizabeth actually died because they had yet another reason to hate Devina.

She looked so angry right now. She was holding Lucas gracefully around his upper body. Her eyes didn't leave her siblings. Two other people were with them, I suppose is their plus one to this roller coaster of hell. I touched her shoulder and she didn't even flinch. All of our friends stood behind us as if we were a untied front.

"I said, what the hell are you doing here?" Devina spat at them.

"Mom huh?" Lucinda begins taking a few steps toward us.

"X, can you take Lucas to the car. We need to handle some business here." I say and he waits at my side for Devina to relinquish Lucas. She doesn't even move. I step toward her and whisper into her ear "Devina, Lucas doesn't need to hear any of this. Let him go with X."

She finally turns her back to her siblings and kneels down in front of Lucas. "Honey, I need you to go with Uncle X. He's going to take you home. I have to talk to these people." She says and turns her attention to X. "You have a key right?"

"Mom, who are these people?" Lucas asks. I guess he didn't recognize them from the very few pictures Devina puts up from his family. All the pictures are of my family, our friends and a few of her parents and herself.

"These are some people that you haven't met yet." I say before Devina has a chance to. "They're not important though. We'll meet you at home okay?"

"X?" Devina says. "I'm trusting you with my child. Wait, on second thought. Marcella. Go with him."

"Okay." She responds while taking Lucas out the door. Jelly, Xavier and Will follow them. Skylar, Derek, Theo and Trisha stay behind and wait for us. We wait for them to fully exit before resuming the conversation. We all sit in chairs across from each other and jkust stare at each other for a minute.

"Cut the shit." I finally say. "What the hell are you two doing here?"

"Well Ezequiel. I didn't know that a senator could have such a mouth on himself." Lucinda says and Devina glares at her.

"Answer the question."

"We are here for the wedding." Mark finally says which really pisses off Devina. She tightened her grip on my hand and her face looked like she was about to burst.

"Well, you are all officially uninvited to my wedding. So you all can go to wherever you belong now." I say and stand up. "We don't need you in our lives." I start towards the door and then something stops me. There was a hand on my shoulder that belonged to Mark.

"wait." He said which made Devina blow up. Oh shit.

"What the fuck do you want now? Do you want to apologize for leaving him? Do you want to make amends after eleven fucking years!" She says realizing her hand from mine making her way slowly but surely through Mark to Lucinda. "What is the shit of you coming to my wedding? You have no fucking right! Who the hell do you think you are? Both of you think you are that extraordinary that you can walk in and out of my life whenever you please?"

"Devina calm down…" Mark says while putting his hands out.

"Shut the fuck up Mark. You moved to California for a reason. You have no reason to be here! Why don't you do you and the brown haired bimbo a favor and stay where you belong."

"Devina, let's not get angry. Let's just talk about this calmly and rationally." Lucinda says never leaving her chair.

"Calmly? Rationally? What fucking drugs are you smoking? You want me talk calmly, you should've come about eleven years ago when I was an eighteen year old college kid that was pushed into the damn adult world. You think you're so high and mighty. More like Cocky and pretentious. News Flash! Dad bought you that nose for your sweet sixteen and I will make you get another one if you even think about coming near my wedding."

"It was your decision to take on Charles!" Lucinda finally screamed back. Wrong move considering that Devina was just got started going off on her.

"You wanted to make him an orphan. He is our blood. Or my blood considering you don't have a heart or a soul."

"It was your choice Devina. Whether you like it or not, you decided to become his mother." Mark yelled at her. I had to stand by and watch because I knew she could handle this by herself. It was her fight; she had to be the one to charge.

"It doesn't even matter now. I am his mother and you two are nothing. Lucinda why don't you go back with Wilbur to your life in wherever the hell you live and Mark, go back to California. You two don't belong here." She says and I am so proud of her for walking away.

"Devina, don't turn your back on me!" Lucinda yells at her while pulling her hair. Very bad choice, considering the fact that Devina is a trained fighter. She turned around and got a grip on her arm which she quickly pulled to a direction which it wasn't supposed to go. She pushed her to the ground; Lucinda was face down while Devina had a lock on her elbow which she had her four inch heel on.

"Okay Lucinda, you want to play hard ball? I'll play hard ball." Devina said while putting more pressure on her shoulder. We all just watched them as Devina put more and more pressure on her which made Lucinda scream louder and louder with every passing second.

"Someone do something." The woman Mark brought finally spoke. She moves towards them, but Mark pulled her back.

"Mary, I wouldn't do that. Devina can take on at least five people at the same time. You might end up with a dislocated shoulder."

"We can't just watch them." Lucinda's husband finally spoke.

"Do you want to do something? I suggest not. I might go after you then." I say with a dead serious face. I mean it. If I can't hurt one of those two, I'm going to release all of my anger out on someone. He quickly looked at the floor and decided to chance it. Wrong choice. I tackled him and he fell to the floor. "Damnit Wilbur, I warned you."

"My name is Walden." He says trying to breathe.

"Zeke, we have to stop this." Theo said and I looked at him. Damn, I never get t have any fun. I get up and I walk near Devina. I slowly touch her shoulder and she doesn't even look at me.

"Devina." I whisper softly into her ear. "Come on babe. Let her go."

"She's going to tell him. I can feel it."

I move my hand towards hers and she finally looks at me. "Let's go home." I say and she looks back at Lucinda who is now a dark shade of red. She releases her and she quickly moves to her husband.

She walks to Mark who wont look her in the eye. "Go near my family and I'll kill you." She says and walks away. We walk to the door and I make sure that Theo and Trisha are behind us. Skylar is with Derek checking out their wounds which shouldn't be that extensive.

"Devina, Zeke. Whether you like it or not, we are your family." Mark said and Devina stops.

"Not anymore." She says and we disappear through the doors. We walk to the car to which Arthur had already started one he saw us leave the hospital. Devina went in without a word and we all followed.

"Home Sir?" Arthur asked moving into the drivers seat.

"Yes Arthur. Thank You." I said and he rolled up the partition. The car began to move and we all sat in silence. I put my arm around Devina and Theo and Trisha were just looking their phones, avoiding eye contact with us.

"Skylar is going to meet us at the house. She's gonna wait for Derek's shift to be over in about half an hour." Trisha said finally looking up from her phone. "I don't have any appointments this afternoon, so I'm free."

"Okay. Thanks Trish." Devina finally said. "Bitch made me bruise my knuckles." I looked at her hands and it was all red. I took her hand and she looked at me. Our eyes said everything, we didn't need words to understand that we don't even know what to say. I kissed her forehead and we all sat until we got home.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Devina

I sat in the limo snuggling up to Zeke with Trisha and Theo holding hands at the other end of the limo. We all waited for us to finally arrive home. I don't know what I'm going to say to Lucas when he asks about Mark and Lucinda. I'm sure he's going to have loads of questions. I don't even know what to say to him about them, I don't know them. We weren't particularly close growing up because I normally spent time in my room or with mom or dad. Lucinda was never really a sister to me, Mark sometimes tried to be my brother but he never actually accomplished that goal. My father though, I don't know what to do with him. I know that he brought them here, but why? He never showed much interest in our bad relationship before, why start now? He never wanted to mend it nor did it matter much to him. He didn't care when they left the state and he didn't even want to attend Lucinda's wedding to Walden. He wants something, but what is so important that he needs the siblings from hell and me all in one room?

"We're here ma'am." Arthur says pulling up to the sidewalk. Zeke opens the door and gets out. He gives me his hand and I pull myself out. I see Xavier's car and I look at my house, in which all lights are on. We all walk to the front door and Zeke pulls out his key.

"Arthur, we won't need you anytime tonight. You can go on home." I say and he nods. He walks back to the drivers' side and drives off. Zeke opens the door and we go inside. We walk past the foyer and to the kitchen. There is where I saw Marcella stress cooking while X and everyone else on the couch just watching TV.

"We're home." I say and everyone looks at me and waves. Lucas comes running to me and I hug him. "What's up Hun?"

"Who we're those people?" he asks releasing me. I look into his eyes and see my sweet baby boy. No matter how old he is, and no matter what anyone says, he will always be my baby boy. I brush a strand of brown hair away from his face and smile.

"They're not important. Just some business you dad and I had to take care of. How's your head?" I ask as he leads me to the couch where everyone sits.

"It's fine. I'm a little dizzy though." He says as we sit down. Zeke sits next to me and Trisha and Theo across from us. "We're watching transformers. Uncle X always says that you loved to watch this movie when I was a baby."

"Actually, that's not true. I love this movie and your mom just sat there to watch it with me." Zeke says and I smile.

"Well, you guys don't have to stay. I'm sure you all have things to do." I say and they all shake their heads.

"Since your rehearsal dinner is on Friday, we don't have Friday night dinner. So Monday will have to do." Trisha says and I nod.

"Well, I guess we're gonna have pizza tonight." I say which startles all of them.

"You said pizza isn't a meal." Lucas says

"You said it was a meal for the homeless and the lazy." Marcella says

"You said that the Italians were good in art but not food. That's why you never eat spaghetti." X said

"How is it that you all remember what I said about food but not when I tell you that there is a drought and that we need to conserve water." I say which makes everyone laugh. I go to the kitchen and call the pizza company. Dominos because pizza hut is disgusting. I get a large cheese pizza with thin crust, a large combination and a large pepperoni.

"I'm gonna change. Zeke, pay for the pizza's when they come." I say and walk upstairs. I really need to get an elevator installed or something because there is no need for me to climb four stories just to get to my bedroom. I pass by all of the pictures as I come up and stop at the one with me, my mother and my father. My mother was a beautiful woman, long blonde hair with green eyes. Nothing I inherited from her, but my grandmother always said that I would grow up to be just like her. When she found out that I was going to raise Lucas, she commended me because she knows that it was what my mother would have done If she was put into my position. I resumed walking and finally came to the room. Oh lord, no wonder why I'm not fat. I get to walk an entire marathon just to get to my bedroom. I open the double door and it looks exactly the way I left it. I walk to my bathroom and into my closet. I pull out some sweats and a t-shirt. I take off my heels and put on my house cloths. I put my dirty cloths in the hamper and I look into the mirror. I hear noise outside the door and I hear it open.

"Oh my god. You need to put an escalator in there or something." I hear Skylar say and laughing afterward. "Devina?"

"in here." I yell as I wash my face. My makeup is still on, damn waterproof things. They all enter and sit down on the couch.

"So, we need to have a chat." Trisha says biting into a chocolate bar. She's in her second month of her pregnancy so she is craving things like crazy. "About the wicked bitch and the brother from hell…"

"What about them?" I ask but I know exactly what they are concerned about. They have been with me from the beginning. They all have seen me stress about it for the past eleven years.

"You know what we mean. Are they a threat to Lucas?" Josephine asks.

"Because if they are I might have to kill a bitch." Marcella says in her normal confident tone. Those two have always been each others yin and yang; Marcella, normally the outspoken person and Jelly the good cop.

"Honestly, I don't know. My dad brought them here. He's trying to pin it on the fact that we don't have a good relationship but it's more than that. He's planning something and he needs all three of us in the same city for him to do it." I say and walk over to them. I sit down on the floor and think.

"How do you know it's not just for your wedding?" Jelly asks.

"Come on Jell, you know Max hates them and he wouldn't bring them both into the city without a reason and a good one at that." Skylar says.

"What do you want to do about them? Do you want to let them back into your life? I mean, it's all yours and Zeke's call. Lucas is your son and whatever you decide will affect them." Trisha says while standing up. "Come on, we better get back before the guys teach Lucas to do something inappropriate." We all stand up and we walk down the stairs. On the way down we talk about Trisha's pregnancy. She's the second one of us to become a mom. Zeke has been asking if we could have one of our own. It doesn't help that Lucas also wants a baby brother.

"So who's next?" Trisha asks and we all laugh. We finally reach Lucas' floor and I move them to all the pictures. Lucas is very well rounded, he's smart, and he's talented in more than one thing. He can play soccer and the guitar, drums and piano. There is a picture of Zeke, Me and him holding his first place trophy for the talent show for playing a song by Bach.

"Well, if anyone should be next I think it's supposed to be Devina." Marcella says and I push her a little.

"She's right D, you're a born mother." Jelly says and I shake my head.

"We have so many things going on right now. I have my job and then I have the wedding and then I have whatever my dad is starting. Life is hectic. I think it should be Sky. I mean, it's your time."

"I'm younger than all of you. If not you then I think it should be Jelly." She says as we start back down the staircase. We finally reach the ground floor and make our way to the kitchen.

"Don't forget, the final dress fitting is on Wednesday at one. After that we can get a late lunch or something." I say and they all nod. Then we start laughing about something Trisha said about her being pregnant and getting fat. That was never one of Trisha's concerns because she has a metabolism faster than a cheetah. We walk into the kitchen and I see the guys just playing one of those violent video games that Lucas always plays.

"Who wants wine?" I ask and everyone but Tris nods which makes everyone but her laugh.

"That's not funny." She says as I get everyone a glass. I pour wine in each cup and hand Trisha a water bottle. I take a sip and then I hear everyone guy in the family room say "Oh Shit".

"Language!" I yell and get back to the conversation. "So, I have court tomorrow morning and Zeke is up to his ears with meetings since he has to go to D.C in three weeks. Can anyone stay with Lucas for the morning?"

"I can take him to the office. I need him to read a few books for me to see if they're any good or not." Skylar says which is a great idea.

"Great. I'll be back at the office around lunch and we could all go together." I say and she nods. Then, I feel a hand at my waist and then another pushing my hair from my shoulder. I feel and kiss and smile. "Well hello there…"

"Hello." he says taking his hands off of me. "Who needs a beer?" He yells to the family room.

"Four please!" Theo calls out. He takes out five beers from the fridge and I notice he still hasn't changed yet. He took off his shoes and his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt two buttons. Enough for me to see his tattoo of my name near his heart.

"Hey babe, you don't want to change or something?" I ask and he opens a drawer to get a bottle opener. He shakes his head as he opens the beers.

"Nope. I just want to spend time with our friends." He says taking a sip from one. "Are you wearing my shirt?"

"Yeah. Problem?" I ask and smile. He shakes his head and hugs me from the waist as I wrap my arms around his neck.

"it looks better on you than it does me. It makes me want to try to have a baby right here on the counter." He whispers in my ear which makes me blush a little. I kiss his cheek and pull away. He smack my but which makes me turn around and shake my head. I have a lot of insecurities and one of them is how small my but is. Whenever I talked about it, he would put his hand on my ass and smile. He would always say "I don't care because that is only part of you when I look at the whole picture." I kiss his lips and smile.

"Ew! Mom, Dad, must you do that in the place I eat?" Lucas asks while at the other end of the island. He shivers and walks to the fridge to get a pudding cup. He closes the fridge, pudding cup in hand, and gets a spoon. "I mean, I'm eleven and I don't need to see that."

"Um, you're ten sir." I say and laugh. "Go take these to your uncle's please."

"Fine mom." He says and grabs two bottles and walks to them. Zeke picks up the other three and walks out of the kitchen. I turn back to the kitchen and jump back into the conversation over which guy to kill, kiss or marry.

"Okay D, your turn; Ryan Gosling, Ryan Reynolds and Ryan Lochte." Trisha says.

"Oh come on! The Ryan's! How do you expect me to choose?!" I say and they all laugh. I take a sip of my wine and nod. "Okay, Marry Ryan Gosling, Kiss Ryan Reynolds and kill Ryan Lochte." After I say it, I get booed by all the girls. "Come on, hard choice!"

"You would rather kill Ryan Lochte rather than Ryan Reynolds?!" Skylar says. "Come on D!" Immediately after the doorbell rings and I walk away. Zeke follows me with his wallet and I get my purse.

"What are you doing?" I ask

"You told me to pay for the pizza when it came." He says and raises an eyebrow at me. Oh crap, I did say that.

"Oh yeah. Well, I'll come with you then." I say and take his hand. "You know, I want to thank you for not making me choose." He looks at me confused "Between work and having a family." He laughs a little and shakes his head. He touches my cheek and kisses it. "What are you laughing at?"

"The idea that you could stay home and raise a family by yourself, and being, well, your sister." He says as we come to the door. "I'm glad you're not like her, I probably wouldn't be with you if you were like her."

"I would kill myself if I was like her. Promise me that if I ever become anything remotely like that, I want you to smack. Got it?" I say and he laughs.

"Yes dear." He says and opens the door. It's not the pizza guy we find, it's my family holding the pizza's we ordered. My sister, her husband, my brother, his whore and my father all standing there staring at me and all I can do is shut the door in their face.

"Devina, open the door." I hear my father say but I don't do it. I look at Zeke and he gives me the look like I have to be nice to them.

"What?" I ask Zeke.

"They're not going away. We have to them and they have our pizza." He says and I just stare at the door. I open it and look at them. Lucinda has a bruised face and a swelling eye and I laugh to myself a little.

"What do you want?" I ask not allowing their entrance into my house.

"I need to talk to all of you, together." My father says and I just glare at him. I cant believe he showed them were I live. It's disrespectful to me. Me allowing them in is like playing with a Ouija board in my house. It's dangerous and as the directions on the box say "do not play in home, if you allow the spirits in, they never want to leave." "Please Devina."

"Why the hell should I let them into my home?" I ask

"Because it's not yours, it's mom's." Lucinda says and I start towards her but am immediately stopped by Zeke hugging me.

"Mom, where's the pizza? I'm starving…" Lucas says walking into the foyer. "Hey, it's your business buddies."

"Business buddies? We're her siblings…" Mark says and I glare at him.

"Lucas, take the pizza's from your grandfather and give it to your aunts and uncles. Tell them that the siblings from hell are here." I say my eyes never leaving Lucinda and Mark. Lucas does what he's told and goes to my father.

"My My Lucas, you've grown so much." Mark says

"don't walk to him. You have no right." I say to him in the most calm way I can. Lucas looks at me but I don't look back. He leaves the foyer and makes his way to the kitchen. "We can talk in my study." I say and walk to my office. My office is a lot like the one in the firm. I sit down in the chair and Zeke stands behind me. Everyone stands in front of me waiting for someone to talk. "Speak."

"We are not dogs Devina, we are people. You can't just command us to do things." Lucinda says in her normal condescending tone.

"Oh really? How about this. Get the hell out of my house." I say with my eyes dead to her.

"Not quite yet, I have to talk to all of you." My father says "As you all know, I'm moving to D.C at the end of this year, but I told a fib as to why."

"Aren't you going to be on the supreme court of something?" Lucinda asks.

"You are such an idiot Lucinda. Are you sure you went to Brown? I mean, what the hell is wrong with you?" I ask and Zeke laughs.

"Can you two please be civil for two minutes? God! You two are acting like children." Mark yells at both of us.

"As I was saying, I'm not going to be apart of the department of justice, I'm not even going to be in the city for the next year. I'm going to be touring the country… campaigning."

"Campaigning for what Max?" Zeke asks.

"For…"

"For president…" I finish for him. I look at my father and he wont even make eye contact with me. "That's why you brought them here, to show that we are one happy family…"

"Devin…"

"So you want me to live yet another lie? I won't do it." I say and stand up. "You said what you had to say, you can all leave now." I walk to the door and open it. I walk out and to the kitchen to where all of our friends are. The people I just left aren't my family, these people are.


	6. Chapter 6

Coming in Waves

Chapter 6: Zeke

Devina just stormed out of her study leaving me to calm the pack of wolves. I look at them and they are all staring at the door. I sit down in her chair and wait for them to calm down. Mark was the first of them to sit down and then the rest of them followed. Max still stared at the door, hoping she would come back in. I always thought that their relationship would go back to normal. Back to the way it was before Lorelei died and before Lucas. They were quite a team before, a force to be reckoned with. One time, long ago, they even shared the same side of the courtroom. Devina, whether she wants to admit it or not, misses the relationship she once had with her father. He finally sits down and looks at me. No matter what is going on with Max, I still have my reservations with him, be we have a truce.

"Maybe you shouldn't have hit her." I say and smirk at him. His head goes down and her siblings look shocked.

"He hit the prodigal daughter… oh the mighty have fallen." Lucinda says

"Shut up Lucy. Not an hour ago did she beat you to a pulp." Mark says in defense of Devina which surprises me. He tried to get in touch with her when Lucas was two but Devina pushed him away.

"Nevertheless, I need all of you by my side." Max says which just angers me. "All of my children and their families. I'm at a disadvantage by my wife being dead already, but in a way that can make me stronger."

"Are you serious?" I ask and he looks at me. "So, what? You crack a whip and we're all supposed to come to your side like broken horses? You know as well as I do that if Devina heard what you just said she would call the mental asylum herself."

"Well I'm not talking to Devina, I'm talking to all of you. I need her there Zeke."

"We have lives, we have jobs and most importantly we have Lucas. Are we just supposed to leave him here just because you believe he ruined your life?" I ask in my condescending tone that Devina hates.

"Yes. That thing is an abomination. I'm still baffled that you two took him in rather than leave him on the streets where all the murderous people are." Lucinda says which makes me want to punch her in the face and bury her alive.

"Can you be quiet!" Mark yells at her. "What the hell is wrong with you? No matter what he did, he is still a person."

"why don't we all just take the night to calm down." Walden says. "Let's just go back to the hotel and calm down. We can have dinner tomorrow."

"What makes you think that Devina will agree to any of this?" I ask getting everyone's attention. "No matter what any of you say, she will get final say on any of this."

"What makes you so sure about any of this? She doesn't control this family." Max says while standing up.

"I am sure because that's who Devina is. She has the final say on everything, and not to mention, she hold all of your secrets." I say and smirk. "All of your secrets really."

"She wouldn't do that. Expose who Lucas' parents really are. It would hurt his precious little feelings." Lucinda says confidently.

"I really don't know what she could do, but I do know this. She despises all of you and will do possibly anything to ruin all of your lives." I say and she storms out with Max behind her. Walden and whatever the brunette's name is follow.

"I don't care." Mark says while looking me in the eyes. "She's my sister and I love her."

"Love her? You ruined her."

"I was 24. I was kid who had just lost his mother."

"People are parents at 24; your sister was a parent at 18. Why would you dare suggest that you weren't mentally stable to handle something like that?"

"Zeke, my mom had just died."

"You act as if Devina was the only one that didn't lose a mother, she did too."

"I tried helping her. She would hear it. I tried helping her financially, I even tried seeing him."

"I know, but if you knew Devina at all, you would know that she wouldn't forgive you with the amount of time that you allotted her to forgive."

"I have been trying for the past nine years. Every Christmas, every birthday. She didn't let me in."

"What?" I asked perplexed with that idea. She never told me that he tried every year, she just told me about the time when he was two.

"Just, tell her I'm sorry again. We're having dinner at the Plaza at six. Please make her come, you guys can even bring Lucas." He says and grabs his coat. He reaches the door and turns back. "Thank you, by the way. Thanks for being his dad. From what I can see, you are doing one hell of a job."

"Wait." I say and pull out my wallet. I walk towards him and hand him a picture of Devina, Lucas and I at his concert. "I think you deserve to at least have a picture of us."

"Thank you." He says and just like that he's gone. I walk back to the kitchen and the family room. I see Devina with a glass of vodka in her hands leaning on the beam. She was looking at all of our friends and their strange attempts to make him laugh. I hug her from behind and she turns around.

"Well, you pulled out the hard liquor." I say and look at the cup.

"I thought it was a special occasion. Meeting with ghosts doesn't happen everyday." She says and takes a sip. "Pizza's good." She says as she pulls me to the kitchen. She gets me a slice and puts it on a napkin and hands me it. I take a bite and look at her.

"So why didn't you tell me?" I ask and she looks at me with a confounded look on her face. "About Mark and his attempts to see Lucas."

"I didn't think it was important." She says and takes another sip. "He's been trying for a long time, but I didn't know how to react to it. So I didn't."

"I'm here for a reason, and one of them is for you to talk to." I say and put down the pizza. I move closer to her. I could feel her warmth that is coming off of her skin and I could smell the alcohol from her breath. I push her hair back and I kiss her neck slowly moving up and whispering "I Love You." With every breath.

"I love you too." She says as I reach her lips. She put down the drink and was now hugging my waist. "I know that you're always there for me. It's just, I don't even want to face my family. They are all so demonic, I cant believe I'm related to any of them."

"Well, I'll be your angel."

"You already are." She says and kisses my lips. She released and got herself another glass of wine and we walked to where our friends were. They are now playing charades and I think X was trying to act like a surfboard or he was just playing dead. The festivities ended around ten for Lucas, so Devina and I walked up the stairs. We reached the second floor and went to his room. He got changed into his pajamas and went into bed.

"Why didn't you tell me mom?" Lucas asked Devina and she let out a sigh.

"You know that the men in my life need to stop asking me that question." She responds and I just laugh.

"Or maybe you just need to stop keeping secrets from the men in your life." I say and Lucas laughs.

"Dad's right mom." Lucas says and she just rolls her eyes. She kisses his head and I give him a high five. We walk back downstairs to where our friends were and they were all cleaning. It's the thing for Friday night dinners. Everyone makes the mess, everyone cleans up.

"So, what'd you tell him?" Theo asks me as we pick up the pizza boxes from the family room. I just told all of the guys what just happened and they were as baffled as I was "You know, about Mark and Lucinda."

"We didn't tell him anything because he never asked." I say and walk to the kitchen.

"What do you think about the whole thing?" X asks me.

"I think it's D's family. If mom said something than yes, it would be my call to make, but since it's her family it's her call. So whatever she does I will support."

"Thank you Zeke." Devina says as we enter the kitchen. I guess the girls have been pestering her about it too. "You know, It's pretty late. You can all go home, Zeke and I will finish up tonight."

"How about we all stay over. It's like one really long slumber party. I mean, we all have cloths here." Lane says and Trisha immediately nods.

"Is it okay with you Devina?" X asks and she looks at me.

"Yeah, it's cool with us." I say and she smiles. We all finish up and go to our rooms. The entire place is huge and even with everyone in it; we still have three extra rooms. Devina falls into bed and I go to the bathroom and change. I get into my boxers and I jump into bed. I wrap my arms around D and we talk about what happened in the room after she left. She was calm while taking in the information.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow. I'm really tired." She says and kisses my hand. "Goodnight love."

"Goodnight. I love you." I say but I think she is long gone by then. I snuggle up to her and fall asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Devina

I slowly wake up to the breeze of summer coming in through the open balcony doors. I turn and find my soon to be husband still sound asleep. I look at him and all I can do is smile. He has been mine for nearly twelve years, and soon, we will embark and the glorious journey of marriage. I kiss him on the lips and I can feel him slowly start to wake up. In less than a minute, I know he is fully awake because he is now on top of me.

"You know." I say pulling away from his kiss. "I guess now we have to discuss a few things."

"Okay." He says giving me one more kiss before returning to his side. He brushes a strand of hair from my face and kisses my forehead. The way he looks at me always gives me chills. God I love this man with all of my heart.

"You know you need to stop doing this to me." I say and he gives me a confused look but I know that he knows exactly what I'm talking about. "You making me smile like this. It never used to happen before you."

"But that is the smile I love so much." He says which makes me blush. "Well, we do have things to talk about."

"What do I do about them? I mean, I never suspected that this moment would ever come. The day I would have to face both my brother and my sister. With terrible timing too; with the wedding this Friday and Lucas' birthday in only three weeks. What do they expect me to do? Just welcome them back into my life and pretend that they didn't shut me out for the past eleven years?"

"Well, that's not entirely true is it? Mark tried getting in touch with you for the past nine." He says but not with a condescending tone, but a tone of remorse. "You never did tell me why you did that."

"Okay, It's not just the fact that they don't want to see me, I don't want to see them. I see my father because he is Lucas' father too. You know I never really forgave him for what he did. He was necessary but Mark and Lucinda. Why would I cause myself that much pain?"

"Devina…" He begins to say but then I get up from the bed and walk to the balcony. We leave it open to let all of the nature breeze in from central park. My hair tangled and in sweats and an oversized t-shirt, I look out onto the world. I never imagined my life if I didn't have Lucas in my life; if I didn't take him in. Then it hit me; I would still be distant from my siblings but I would have a better relationship with my father. I would still be with Zeke, but our relationship would be totally different; he would resent me for my success and he wouldn't be where he is now, he would probably be cheating on me with Trisha or someone else close to me. I start to cry at the thought of that being my life. The life of, well, my sister.

I don't know how long I stood there, but I suddenly felt Zeke's arms around me. I could feel his chin on my shoulder and I felt a kiss. "What do you want to do about them?" He asks me and I turn around. He wipes away my tears that I have shed thinking about my alternate universe life. "What do you think she would want you to do?" He asks as more tears come out.

"She loved us you know? The last Christmas that we spent together, when she knew you for a few months already, she somehow already knew that you were the one for me. She knew it before I knew it." I say looking up at him. I brush my fingers through his hair, that always somehow sooths me.

"Lorelei always had the talent to know what you want before you know it." He says and I laugh. He and she always got along so well, even from the start. When I first introduced them, they clicked and I always thought it was amazing. He always knew that I took Lucas in because it's what she would have wanted. He knows that before I do anything big, I always ask myself that question.

"She loved all of us. Even if she was miraculously resurrected from the dead, she would ask everyone to forgive and forget." I say and look up at him. "But how can I do that? Forgive eleven years of hurt, of anger, of abandonment?"

He looks into my eyes and takes my hand. He leads me back to the bed and he sits me down. He stands between my legs and takes my hands in his, intertwining our fingers. "You know, eleven years ago, I recall you asking me the same question." He says and I start to remember.

It was just after Doctor White told us that my mother had died while giving birth. Lucinda was crying into her hands and Mark was staring at the floor. My father had just punched a wall and was holding it for support, trying to recover from the devastating news that we all just received. I was there, sitting still, probably from shock. I saw the door open with Zeke walking through the doors in the tri-beta shirt he had on with matching sweats. He saw me and somehow, he immediately knew. I ran to him and all he could do was hug me. I just cried into him and I didn't care what anyone else thought. I'm sure he let out a few tears himself. . We stood there, for what seemed like eternity, and before I knew it, we were sitting down in chairs.

"Zeke…" My father began to say but then Zeke stood up and hugged him. I've never seen my dad look so broken. He never let me see this side of him and we were close. "Thanks for coming."

"Of course. Lorelei was like family to me. You all are." He says and I know he doesn't mean it with Lucinda because, like me, hates the bitch. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"What do you do when you lose someone you love?" My father asks wiping his tears from his face. "Just watch Devina for a sec while I handle the baby thing."

"What do you mean 'baby thing'?" I ask standing up. "What are you going to do to Lucas?"

"Don't call him that!" My father yells at me which startles me enough to step back. "He doesn't deserve that name. He doesn't deserve any name and he certainly won't have my name."

"He's your son." I say regaining my composure and standing my ground. "What do you expect to do with him?"

"Devina… Leave it alone." Mark says standing up from the long while of sitting down in shock. I cant believe those are the first words he says after the news of our mother's death. I don't even acknowledge it with a glance. Even a glance is too much to credit for that statement.

"He is an abomination that deserves nothing from us." My sister says and all I want to do is smack her but I have enough strength to not follow my first whimsical instincts. However, that statement draws my attention.

"What did you do to deserve the life you were given? You were born from her, just like he was." I say stepping away from her and away from my father.

"At least I could do it without murdering her." She says and I clench my fist but I feel Zeke's hand on my arm. "Is that why you're taking that thing's side? Because you almost killed her too?" She asks and that was enough to get me pissed off enough to do something about it. I punch her in the face and go in for one more time. She lands with her but on the floor and I'm tempted to climb on top of her and injure her enough to make her stop breathing. I step forward but Zeke puts his arms around my waist which stops me.

"Devina." He says into my ear with my eyes never leaving Lucinda. Mark was helping her up now and tears were leaving her eyes. "Bitch isn't worth it. Not now." I finally wrangle my way out of his arms and walk up to my father.

"So that's the end of it then? We will leave and forget them both? His blood runs through our veins as well. You are heartless. All of you."

"He murdered her Don't you dare call me heartless. Your mother was my heart and that thing took her." Is all he has to say and I search his eyes for the tiniest bit of sarcasm. He can't mean that. I look deeper and search for sympathy but I find none. I understand now that he is lost without my mother. She was his humanity and his anchor. Without her, he has nothing left.

"He is a baby. An innocent baby." I say and look around. "What the hell is wrong with all of you?" I ask moving to stand in front of each and every one of them.

"She would've disowned both of you if she ever knew. If she knew that you two were so disrespectful and so heartless." I say to Mark and Lucinda and walk back to where my father stands.

"Devina! Enough." My father yells, something he rarely ever does; but I don't back down.

I look into his eyes with mine dead cold. "She would've left you if she ever saw this side of you. She would've recanted her love for you and smiled when she looked into your eyes and saw nothing."

That was it. Max slapped me right across the face. I was on the ground, tears streamed down my face. After he realized what he did he tried apologizing and helping me up, but I refused it. Zeke helped me up and pushed me towards his chest.

"What the hell is your problem?" Zeke yelled at Max. They both stood on opposite side of me. I touched my face and I could tell it was starting to get red.

"Let me help you stand." He father says as he tried to grab my arm.

"Don't you dare touch her." Zeke says as he carefully get to stand. He was caressing my head. We walked towards the Doctor and Zeke spoke for me. "Can you take us to the baby?" The doctor led the way to the nursery and there he was. He looked so perfect. How could they hate something so innocent? I picked him up, a bundle of joy weighing eight pounds nine ounces. He was so perfect. I turned to the Zeke and he saw how conflicted I was.

"When my dad signs away his rights, what happens then?" I ask doctor white.

"Well, after the paperwork is signed and he is discharged, he will be put into the foster care system and transported to a foster home until he is adopted." Doctor White says and I look at him. I then look at Zeke and before I knew it, I asked a question that was going to change my life forever.

"What if I wanted to adopt him?" I ask and then I could feel Zeke panicking beside me but I cant think about him right now, I have to focus on not letting my baby brother go into the foster care system.

"Um…" Doctor White says startled by my question then quickly regains his composure. "Devina…"

"I'm eighteen. I am his blood. Isn't that supposed to mean that I'm the one he's supposed to go to?"

"This is huge responsibility Devina…"

"I don't need to know about the responsibility that this decision carries, I need to know if it is possible…"

"It is possible, in fact it's preferable." He says. "Would you like me to start the paperwork?"

"Not quite yet. I need to talk to my family about this." I say and he nods. He leaves the room and just in time. I turn and look into Zeke's eyes and I see the terror in them. I sit down in the rocking chair just holding Lucas. Zeke sits in the one right beside it and I know he needs a second to gather his thoughts together.

"Devina…" He begins to say breaking the silence and I look into his eyes. "This is…"

"Zeke." I say interrupting him. "You have been an amazing boyfriend for the past year. You put up with me. You know how crazy I am and you don't care. You give me your shoulder when I cry uncontrollably over irrational things and you put up with me yelling at the tv when two people get together whom should not even be together…"

"So what do you want from me? Do you want me to be the father? Do you expect me to be by your side?"

"Zeke…" I say in a comforting tone.

"Damn it D! I love you. You know I love you, but this is too much. I'm twenty. I don't know anything about raising a baby."

"Zeke…"I say a little louder.

"I mean, we are still in College. We have lives. Fun lives. We make mistakes. This is the time to make mistakes. We cant mistakes once we have a child."

"Zeke!" I yell now. "You are not going to be the father. I wouldn't put that on you but I am going to be his mom, with your consent or not. I will not let him be alone. I just need you to tell people I cheated on you and got pregnant. That is all you know. As for us, were done."

"What?" He says almost sad.

"Everything you said was true, I don't want to put that pressure on you. You need a life, a better one without the one I am about to jump into. I will raise him like he is my own. Your life doesn't have to change. This is my decision and I don't want you to have to suffer the consequences too. I asked myself what my mother would have wanted me to do and this is it."

Zeke is silent for a long time. He just looks at me. I walk towards the door and I want to leave. I won't turn around, I feel like I am walking away from the love of my life. It just so happens that this place only has one exit and he is standing in my way to get to it. As I pass by him, he grabs my arm. He looks at me, with those dazzling eyes that I fell in love with.

"Devina…" He says in a now calm and even tone. "I don't want to lose you."

"Zeke, this is my problem. My responsibility. This year has been fun, but all good things must come to an end." I say and take another step forward but his grip doesn't loosen.

"You don't get it." He says to me. "I won't lose you." He looks at the baby and I can tell that it is the first time he really looked at him. "Why Lucas?"

"Lucas was my mothers' fathers' name." I say and look up at him. "I won't let you do this."

"You don't have choice." I say with a firm voice. "I wont let you throw away your life."

"I'm not throwing away my life if I'm with you." He says and reaches into his pocket and pulls out a box.

"Don't you dare…" I say to him and turn away. He gets down on one knee and starts to propose.

"I got permission from your parents a few days ago. I know our anniversary was three weeks ago, but this is bigger than us now. Lucas doesn't change how I feel about you. I love you. To every tear, every smile and every laugh. You are constantly running through my head. Whatever I do, you are apart of the decision process. I need you and your stubbornness to get through the day. I hate the idea of never seeing you again. Will you marry me?" he says and I finally turn around with tears streaming down my face.

"What in the hell is wrong with you?" I ask stepping towards him. "Most guys would jump at the chance to break up with their obsessive crazy girlfriends. If I told any of my ex-boyfriends that I wanted to adopt a baby they would run so fast that there would still be a shape of their body left on the door."

"I'm not most guys and I'm certainly not going to be one of your ex-boyfriends. With the risk of you slapping me in the face and telling me to get lost, I'm going to ask you again. Will you marry me?" He says letting a tear fall from the corner of his eye.

"You are so stupid." I say going down to his level and kissing him. He kisses me back and I finally pull away. "You lost your chance because I'm never telling you to leave again." We sit in the rocking chair, me on his lap and Lucas on mine and that is the first time we ever had a family moment.

After about twenty minutes or so, my father enters the room and you can tell he was crying for the redness of his eyes and the blotchiness of his face. He looks at all of us sitting in the chair and he grins a little.

"Babe, why don't you call your family down here, I'm sure you have some news to tell them." I say and we stand up. He gives me a kiss and releases my hand. On his way out, Zeke gives my father the death stare and exits.

"I'm sorry." Max said.

"For what? Abandoning your son or for slapping me?"

"Both. I can't love him though. You know that, no matter how cute he is or how much he resembles me. I won't love him and I wont apologize for that anymore. We can find him a good home. That's the extent of it."

I stay quiet for awhile and then I finally speak. "Don't look, I can be his mom. You can explain that is why I wore baggy cloths for a while to hide my pregnancy and then mom and her child died in child birth. Put my name on the birth certificate, as well as Zeke's. We already talked about it. We will be his parents. You will enact my trust fund now, and create one for Lucas. You will go to all the special occasions and stay for however long I say it is appropriate and wont look to him as if you don't like him."

"This is not a negotiation."

"Oh but I think it is. You don't want to look bad as Senator, especially when your term is ending in a few years and I know you want to run for governor. You know by abandoning your son it will make you look like the monster you are, but with this story, you seem like an understanding father and a morning widow and father."

"Why are you so cunning and manipulative?"

"I'm like mom in that way. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal." He says after taking a minute to consider it. After that, Zeke's family came over and our families devised the plan that would last for Lucas' life.

"When did you say the dinner was?" I ask Zeke and roll my eyes. He smiles and puts a hand on my cheek.

"It's tonight at seven." He says and I look into his eyes. "I know you are going to want to punch all of them in the face, but when you do feel like ripping out their throats, talk to me. I might be able to talk you out of it."

"No you won't." I say laughing at him and he eventually joins in. "So, aside from that, I also wanted to talk to you about something else."

"Shoot." He says jumping onto the bed and lying down on his side. I go under the covers and snuggle up next to him. I rest my chin on his abdomen and he smiles at me.

"About the baby proposition you proposed to me a couple nights ago…" I begin to say and Zeke raises an eyebrow as if he doesn't know what I'm talking about.

"Go on…" He says and grins.

"I was thinking, that we could try." I say and before I could say another word, he is already on top of me which makes me laugh. "I see you're very up to trying."

"Well…" He says kissing my neck "I'm sure as hell going to enjoy it." From then he started to move down his kisses until they made me moan in pleasure. I moved his head up to my mouth and I fit mine into his. I put my arms around his neck pulling him closer and closer until there was no more space between us.

"Theo!" Trisha said while laughing on Theo's back opening the two double doors. Quickly after them, Skylar and Derek barged in with Skylar on Derek's back.

"Damn, you two are still in bed?" Derek said putting Lane down.

"Oh Shit. We interrupted something." Trisha said putting her hand over her mouth. Theo just laughed as well as Derek.

"You two better get up before X…" Skylar began to say before Xavier and Jelly came in as well.

"Oh Lord!" Xavier yelled while covering his eyes. "You couldn't wait until we left for you two to do that?"

"Um my house." Zeke said while giving me one more kiss before getting up from bed. Everyone was already dressed for the day and it was just Zeke and I are still in our night time cloths.

"Why don't you all wake up Lucas while we get ready. What time is it anyway?" I ask and get out of bed.

"It's 6:30." Jelly said checking her watch. "We'll start breakfast and wake up Lucas for you guys. So you can go back to doing whatever it is you two were doing." She takes Xavier's hand and leads him out of the room. I walk to the bathroom and I think I hear high fives from the door before it closes.

"You didn't just high five them." I say as Zeke comes to his sink.

"Oh yes I did. I will take the gratitude for being your fiancé and soon to be husband." He says and I just shake my head. I go through my daily morning routine and surprisingly finish before Zeke gets out of his closet. I open his closet door and his back is to me. He has his suit pants on and stating at two different ties; a red one and a black one. I put my arms on his waist and kiss his back.

"You know, it's weird if the girl gets dressed faster than the guy." I say and he turns around to put his hands on my waist.

"Well, which one do you think?" He asks putting up the ties.

"I think you look great in both." I say and he raises his eyebrow. Whenever we go shopping together and ask him which one he likes better and that is the response he always gives me. "Fine, I like the red one."

"You're only saying that because it's matching what you're wearing." He's partially right. The tie does go along with my red calf pencil dress with my nude heels over with a black blazer. "Well technically I'm wearing both tie colors, so I'm not biased. Also, red makes your eyes pop."

"Okay." He says while giving me the tip and him picking up the white button up shirt. I put the tie down on the chair and button up his shirt. "So, you look pretty today."

"Thank you baby." I say and finish buttoning up the top button. "Tuck in your shirt." I say as I get the tie. He does so and I put the tie around his neck and begin to tie it.

"My parents want to have lunch with us tomorrow night. They feel like they haven't seen us in years." He says as I put the tie through the hole. I love his family, they're way better than the dysfunctional one I have. His parents are humanitarians, real ones unlike my crazy bitch sister. His parents' names are Anna Beth and Kyle Parker. They're good people to me and to Lucas. When they found out that Zeke wanted to adopt him with me, they were of course nervous because it's a huge responsibility to have a child, but at the same time, they were proud of him for following his heart.

"Is it like a family thing with your parents, X and even Madeline too? I feel like I haven't see her in ages."

"I think so. Xavier told me that mom missed us but now I want to do something with them. I feel like you're going to need it considering that we'll be dealing with your family the night before."

"That sounds even more perfect. I'd love to. Set it up." I say and adjust his tie to make it perfect.

"You know, I love you." He says to me and then I think about why he said that now.

"That was random. I love you too."

"Good, I thought you were just using me for my sperm to have a baby." He says and I just laugh at him. The man I love is absolutely crazy. He puts on his jacket and we walk out of the room and down the immense amount of stairs until we finally reach the ground floor. From the staircase, we could smell the amazing smell of breakfast. We walk past the formal living room and make our way to the kitchen. 

"Oh my God." Zeke says as we walk into the formal dining room to find all of our friends pigging out to the food I'm pretty sure Marcella made. We sit down at the head of the table as we get a few "good morning." I sit next to Zeke and we start pigging out at the French toast.

"I hope everyone's hungry." Marcella says as she puts down the chocolate chip pancakes on the table.

"Have my babies." Xavier says and we all laugh. As I take my first bite, I see Lucas eating three different things at one.

"Slow down there bud. In what world do you not give your mother a morning kiss?" I say to Lucas and he wipes his mouth and stands up. He gives me a kiss on the cheek and rushes back to his seat to eat even more.

"So, do you all not have to go to work today? It seems like everyone is trying to eat themselves into a coma." I say and they all laugh. Eventually, we all stop eating and then i take a glance at my watch.

"Okay, it's 7:45. I need to go. I have court at nine." I say and get up from my seat. "Who needs a ride to work?"

"I do." Trisha says and stands up. She gives Theo a quick kiss and Skylar does the same to Derek. I give Zeke a kiss and then run to my study. I get the files I need for the Danvers case and put them in my bag. I meet Trisha and Skylar in the car, but then I remember that I didn't say goodbye to everyone else. Oh well, I'll do it at lunch.

"Sky, weren't you supposed to take Lucas today?" I ask as I get my phone out.

"Marcella and Josephine don't have work today, they said they'll take him and meet us for lunch today." She says and I just nod. The city began to move past me and before I knew it, I was at the courthouse.

"Arthur, can you take them to the office?" I ask as I get my things together.

"Of course ma'am." Arthur replies.

"I'll see you two for lunch." I say and open the door, as they begin to nod, their faces freeze. "What?" I ask but then I turn around and then I see my father looking directly at me.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Zeke

After the girls left, I was still eating at the table with my friends. X and I were messing around and Theo and Derek was still engulfing everything their eyes laid eyes on. I sat back in my chair because I could not eat another bite.

"Oh my God. Marcella, you need to quit your job at your company and cook for me full time!" I say and Will just laughs.

"Well, I'll take that as 'Marcella, I love your cooking'. Thank you Zeke. You know, don't you guys have to go to work and save the city or something?" Marcella asks shoving a waffle into her mouth.

"You guys know that I'm just a senator not batman, right?" I ask and they all laugh. I stand up and move over to Lucas. "Bud, your mom told you that you have to do your project today right?"

"Um, if I say no, does it mean I don't have to do it?" Lucas asks and he laughs at his own joke. I love that about him. He got that from Devina because she does that all the time. I raise my eyebrow and he smiles at me. "Yeah mom told me, I'll do it today. Do you know where mom keeps the pictures of her family? I don't see any around here."

"That's because your aunt and uncle are a bunch of jackasses that break cameras with their ugliness and bitchiness." Xavier says and the entire room erupts into laughter.

"Why does mom hate her siblings so much?" Lucas asks me and then the entire room falls silent. He looks at me with the big brown eyes that look exactly like D's.

"It's because your aunt and uncle didn't approve of your mom's choices. You know your mom, if she doesn't like it, she won't allow it into her life." He nods in understanding and the room all looks at me. "So, you'll find those pictures in your mom's study in the cabinet beside the bar."

"Thanks Dad." He says and I kissed the top of his head. "Do you have to go to work today? I mean, you can help me with my project."

"I can't bud, I'm sorry. But I can come home early today and I'll make sure your mom does too. We are having dinner with your aunt and your uncle tonight." I say and I hear forks drop and I can feel the stares on my and I can smell the awe.

"What are you doing tonight?" Josephine asks as everyone else still in shock, stares at me. "Why would you do something like that?"

"Those people ruined D's life, and yours and Lucas'!" Xavier yelled at me. He above all people knows how hard losing her family was. I know that is he got the chance; he would kill every single one of them.

"Devina and I are giving them a chance because Max wants to do something huge. It effects my life and D's life and everyone's life." I say

"This sure as hell wasn't Devina's idea and Devina would only do this if you thought it was a good idea. Who talked you into this?" Theo asked me looking me dead into the eye. He knows me too well. Everyone in this room knows me and D too well.

"I thought your wife was supposed to be the psychologist. Don't try to psychoanalyze me." I say to him and then turn to Lucas. He seemed to be very confused with this conversation." Lucas, can you go to your room. We adults need to talk about this alone."

"Dad, I'm going to be eleven in like three weeks." He attempts to put up a fight.

"Come on Lucas. But I promise that before we leave, we will do something that your mom will never let us do. We haven't done this since college." Derek says and winks at me.

"Do what Uncle Eric?" Lucas said while standing up.

"We're going go cart racing!" Eric yells and Theo and X get all excited. Lucas' face brightens up and walks up the stairs. I wait until I hear the door close until we resume our conversation.

"So, I need to tell you all something big and you cant tell anyone." I say and they all roll their eyes. "Why did you all just roll your eyes?"

"Maybe it's because we have been keeping the governors secret for over eleven years!" Josephine said sarcastically. Normally that's Marcella's forte, I guess their changing personalities today.

"That's my girl, being all sarcastic." Xavier says. "Wait, aren't you having lunch with our family today?"

"Yeah, and we're having dinner at the plaza. Good thing too because we're most likely not going to be eating at dinner, rather we're going to be yelling." I say and they all laugh. "It's at mom and dad's place right?"

"Yeah, at 12. You told D right? Mom has been planning this for a week and she's gonna kill you if you try to cancel." Josephine said. She and my mom have always gotten along. Actually my mother, Madeline, Josephine and Devina can get the men in my family to do almost anything.

"So, it's just us close family right?" I inquire.

"Yeah, Madeline called an emergency family meeting about something important." Xavier said. "Well, what's this thing about Max that is super top secret?"

"Well…" I say and look at all of them. I have their full attention and I kinda don't want it. I hate the attention being on myself when it has to do with gossip. With my track record of being apart of the biggest cover up that the Kingston family has ever pulled off, I thought that the drama would end there. Wouldn't that be enough secrets to last a lifetime? "Max is running for the presidency." I say and they all drop their forks in awe. No one says anything, they just stare at me hoping I show the slightest sign that I was joking, but unfortunately, I'm not.

I'm in a way happy that they are speechless. I know for a fact that they are all trying to figure out how this will affect Lucas. I'm really touched that they all love him like a son. However, I am also on their side in the way on how to keep Lucas out of the public eye.

"Does Max not care that this will affect Lucas in every possible way?!" Theo finally yells and the rest of them nod.

"It's bad enough that he isn't apart of Devina's life as much as a father is supposed to be and he ran away from his responsibilities with Lucas!" Derek yelled.

"You weren't there when she was drinking two bottles of tequila crying about whether or not she would be a good mother." Marcella said.

"You guys weren't there when Madeline and I were all in the kitchen when mom was saying how amazing she was for taking on that responsibility." Josephine says and she smiles.

"You know, maybe this is a good thing." Xavier says and we all look at him. "We all discussed this last night, but you said that he was running for something important. You never specified anything. Being president will take him away, and if you think about it, so will the drama."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Will asked what we were all thinking.

"Max has caused all of this. Obviously not Lorelei's passing, but every drama situation that has had huge implications on yours and D's life and not to mention Lucas' life. Everything has been caused by him. You relationship with Devina…"

"We would've been where we are now, even if Lorelei didn't die." I protest. It's a soft subject for me, but there has always been a part of me that wonders if Devina and I would still be together if we didn't adopt Lucas. "I love Devina and I would still be with her even if we were under different circumstances."

"I don't think he implied that Zeke." Josephine said after Xavier just realized what that statement also meant. "He just means that regardless on you original love for Devina; it grew with Max's interference."

"Yes, I didn't mean it in the way that you wouldn't love her if you didn't have Lucas." Xavier said and I understood. I know that he knows that I love Devina just for being Devina.

"For once, X is making sense. I mean, Max did cause all of this. The life you have now, even though it's great, wouldn't be the life you would have had if he would've accepted his responsibilities."

"but that's not the issue here. Max brought the siblings from hell back to New York to show that even though he is a widow, he has a strong family behind him." I say and they all looked a combination of shocked and angry.

"You can't be fucking serious." Marcella said and she just rolled her eyes. "He has some nerve."

"What the hell does he think he's doing? He's making D form one lie after another. He is causing her more and more pain. Why doesn't she see that?" Theo asked. "She is one of the most intelligent and bad ass person I know. Why is she letting him walk all over her like this?"

"I don't think she's going to. I want to go to this dinner thing because she needs to get rid of all this anger she has built up inside. She needs that. I however will not let them take advantage of her again. They got a free pass once, they are not getting another." I say and put my fist down.

"I think you should take Lucas now. He's been in his room for like thirty minutes now." Josephine points out. "We'll be here to make sure everything is in order for when Devina comes home."

"Okay. But then I have to go to a meeting at 10, then I'll come straight home." I say and they nod.

"We'll be here. I'm not scheduled today so I can stay with the girls and Lucas." Derek said

"I took the day off. Plus they'll call me if they need to tell me anything important." Xavier says and I nod.

"Well, I'll get Lucas. Why don't you guys get your stuff together?" I said as I started walking up the stairs. I notice more and more of the pictures that Devina put up about our life. I see something that I haven't seen before. It's a picture of Devina and I at campus. I remember this day. It was before we had Lucas. We were at the park on campus cramming for mid-terms. She had her hair up in a messy ponytail and was wearing a Delta Beta Theta shirt and sweats and I was wearing my tri-beta shirt. I think Xavier took it, he's really into photography. He minored in photography along with his major in business management. I know he sometimes wished that he perused that field but it was more important to him to help people in third world countries and take on the family business. It was his dream.

I finally got to his door and I knocked. I could hear the guns and the screams from his video game from outside his door. I opened the door and he was on his game chair I guess with his head set thing on.

"Lucas?" I said knocking again. I looked at him, but his eyes never left the television. It was like he was in a trance that he couldn't break out of. I walked to the wall plug and unplugged the electrical cord. He looked so shocked, and then he looked at me.

"DAD!" he yelled at me. "I was just about to beat mom's kill ratio." We take this game very seriously in our house. Devina obviously has the high score and everyone is trying to beat it. I haven't won against her since college when I first introduced her to the video game world.

"Come on bud, let's go." I said with a big smile on my face. Lucas unwillingly got out of his game chair and I noticed the way he was dressed. It's nothing like what Devina and I wear on our daily basis. He looks the way I did when I was in college. Casual jeans and a regular t-shirt.

"What?" Lucas said as he noticed I was staring at him. I smiled and he looked at me funny. "You're so weird dad."

"Well we need to go before I have to meet your Uncle Bradley." I say and we both make our way down the stairs. We meet the guys at the main floor. "Jelly and Marcella aren't coming?"

"No." Xavier replied as he handed me my jacket and briefcase. "They said something about organizing the backyard."

"Yeah, they said that they wanted to fix Devina's roses or something like that." Will said as he opened the door. We all filed out and headed towards Xavier's car. I got in the passengers seat while everyone else adjusted themselves into the back seat. Xavier began driving.

"You know, you might want to think about getting yourself a car." Will said as he clasped my shoulder.

"I don't know. Devina always had this thing where it's not what normal families do. I mean, she is always going on about how we aren't a normal family."

"You know most families don't have a father who's a senator and a mother that isn't a shark. Normal families aren't on the cover of newspapers every week." Eric said as the rest of the car laughed.

"Normal is boring. I wouldn't change the life you and mom have given me." Lucas said and I looked at Xavier. He nods at me and I just smile. "I mean, why does mom want to be normal?"

"It goes back to about five months before you were born. When your grandma and your uncle died." I say and look back at him. "Your mom's life changed completely that day and she just wanted her life to go back to the way it was before the accident."

"Is that why mom doesn't want to have a maid and she tries to force us to do normal people things?" Lucas asked.

"Are you kidding? She's like replicating her childhood for you. I've known your mom all her life and I remember when we were playing outside one time and she had to do chores." Xavier said and I remember that day.

"How was Devina as a child? Is she different now?" Eric asked and I grinned.

"No, she was worse back then." I said and they all laughed. We finally pulled into the parking lot of the go cart racing place called "Race your cart off". I've been going here since X and I were little kids.

"Okay Lucas. Your Grandpa Kyle and X have been going here since I was 7. It's really cool." I say as he jumps out of Xavier's 2014 jeep. We all walk to the entrance and we're immediately greeted by the owner Howard Beaver.

"Well, look who the devil let out of hell." Howard said to me as he stepped behind the counter and gave me a hug; he high fived X and waved to Theo, Eric and Will. "I believe that the last time you were here, you were only five."

"I've been here before?" Lucas asked him.

"Yes you have, your mother rode with you on her lap, even though I begged her not to do it, but who can talk D out of doing something that she wants to do?" Howard asked and we all laughed.

"Well, I need to blow off some steam and everyone here is joining me." I said as I gestured towards everyone. "Can we all race each other?"

"Slow morning. Yeah, you know where the gear is right?" Howard asked and I nod. Xavier is already on his way to getting a helmet and picking a car and taking everyone with him. I walk with Howard and he sits down at a bench. "Why do you need to blow off steam? Is it the wedding? Sherri is really excited about it, and so am I."

"Sherri as in my ex-girlfriend? She's invited?" I ask very confused. Devina never really took a liking to Sherri, even when we were teenagers. Devina and I got together when she was a freshman in college. Sherri was my high school girlfriend.

"Devina invited the entire family. Yes, my daughter included. Zeke, she's already married to someone else, you don't have to worry about her objecting at your wedding." Howard said. "What's wrong?"

"I have to have dinner with her family." I said and slumped my shoulders.

"The family from hell? Why?"

"The in-laws sent by Lucifer himself came back to New York per request of the son of a bitch who leaves his own son." I said and Howard let out a sigh. "It was actually my idea to go to the dinner."

"Why in the hell would you suggest something so stupid?" Howard asked.

"Devina has all these emotions stuck inside of her that she has been holding for eleven years. I think it's time for the people who caused her pain to hear her." I said and Howard nodded in agreement. "On the plus side, I'm having lunch with my family. Devina is always in a good mood when we leave my parent's house."

"Well, the Parker Estate is something that can brighten anyone's mood. The company is even better." Howard said and I smiled. Our families are really close. It is a gift really because I love how Howard and his wife Mary can bring light to any situation. They don't come from money, but that's what I love about my parents, they don't judge. They are the parents Devina and I model ourselves after, even with a little bit of Lorelei and a smidge of max pre-accident.

"Come on dad!" Lucas yelled and I nodded.

"Alright, I have enough time for one ride, and then I have to get to work." I said and I looked at Howard. "Howard thanks for always being there." I said and he nodded. I gave him a quick hug and went off to the guys. I took the keys to car number seven, because that's the one Devina always uses. I took off my jacket and my tie. I took out my phone and called Arthur to tell him to pick me up in twenty minutes. I started to walk to the cart when I saw that I got a text from Bradley.

_**Bradley Kane: Can't make today's meeting. Melissa has a parent-teacher conference. Can we do the meeting tomorrow at 10? **_

_**Zeke Pendrad: Absolutely. Works out better for me. Not coming into the office today either. See you tomorrow. **_

I look up from my phone and everyone is looking at me. Probably praying that I would walk faster than the old Asian pace I was going now. "Hold on, I don't have to go into the office today. I just have to text Noelle." I said which brought joy to Lucas' face. I texted Noelle that I wasn't coming in and that she could leave at her leisure. I put down my phone and walked to the car.

"So, I don't have to go to the meeting today, so I'm free for the day." I say and I put on my helmet. Howard stepped to the side of the track and looked at all of us.

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Howard asked and I started the car. I nodded as I put my helmet on. I look at Lucas and his smile is so big when he looks at me. I nod at him and I move my cart to the starting line. We all line up and Howard waves the green flag and we all start racing.

_**Hi guys! Thanks for reading this story. Don't forget to Review, Follow and favorite. You're all amazing and I hope your lives aren't as messed up as Devina's. **_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Devina

I look at him and he looks like he is on top of the world. Soon, he will be. I get my desire to always win from him. He's wearing a black suit that I'm sure my mother picked out for him because he doesn't have a remote sense of what style is. I held out a hand and I took it.

"Devina…" Skylar said in a concerned tone.

"I'm fine guys. Go to work. I'll meet you back at the office." I said and they both nodded. A moment later the car drove off and I started walking towards the courthouse. My father was undoubtedly right behind me. I started up the steps, and then I saw all the flashes of the paparazzi and reporters. People were screaming questions at me. . My family is no stranger to the press. Well, everyone except Lucas, we try to keep him out of the public eye as much as possible.

"Do you think you can defend Mr. Richmond the way you defend every other client?" A reporter hollered at me. "Why are you defending a murder?" A woman asks. I heard numerous questions about the court case and Mr. Richmond. "Did you bring the senator as your co-chair?" A man asked shoving something near my mouth. I realized I stopped and my father was now at my side. I looked at him and he nodded

"I plan on winning this court case no matter if Senator Martinez is at my side or not. I am not defending a murderer, I am defending a man who was attacked and enacted his right to defend his life." I said with a smile. "No matter what maneuvers I chose to perform, the outcome will be the same as my other outcomes. I will prove the innocent, innocent and I will do it the same way my family does anything; with grace and pride."

"Are you excited for your wedding?" A man asks. We strayed from the topic of the court case to my wedding. "Where will the ceremony be held?" another reporter asks.

"The details of my wedding will not be released but to answer the first question I heard, I've practically been married for eleven years, this just makes it official." I said with a smile and then I saw a town car pull up then my siblings and Lucinda's pet came out of the car. I looked to my father and he just looked at them. I can't believe he invited them to my court case.

"Dad…" I whispered in his ear. "Why in the hell are the siblings from hell here?"

"They're here to support you. It also helps me with my campaign." He said with a smile. He waved to them and I just pushed my fingers through my hair in annoyance. They all came to the steps and we took a lot of family pictures. I tried my hardest not to roll my eyes.

After ten minutes, I couldn't take it anymore, I went inside. I sped walked to the courtroom and I entered the room and there were still people filtering in. Arabella was sitting on the plaintiff's side while I took my seat on the defendant's side. I have to get into kick ass lawyer mode right now. I took out the files and started organizing. I began to re-read my talking points and notes on the case. I let out a cleansing breath and cleared my head. I let everything melt away and I was ready. I checked my watch 8:45 AM. Not even a minute later, my family strolled in with their 'I have money and I'm better than everyone else' walk that I hate oh so very much. My brother, sister and her pet sat in the first row directly behind me. My father however sat in my second chair.

"What are you doing?" I ask my father. "Why did you bring them?"

"I thought it was an opportunity. Remember what people always say 'Carpe Diem'."

"Yes, you can seize the day all you want but seize your day not mine. I have court and you brought the siblings from hell?" I ask in a semi-irritated tone. "Really dad? You know how this firm means the world to me and my work even more so. This is the one place that I have that those two can't touch."

"We're right here." Lucinda points out and I just roll my eyes.

"Wow Devina, you have your own fan club?" Arabella says and she picked the wrong day to mess with me. I turn my chair and look her dead in the eyes.

"Arabella" I say in a calm tone "Take your face in you hands and shove it up your ass." I turn back to them. "As for you three, you don't get to talk here. Mark, I don't go to your hospital and tell you how to stick a needle in someone's heart. Lucinda, I don't go to the DAR and tell you how to drink tea and Walden, I have no fucking clue what you do, but let me make this clear, if you talk I will burn off your hair while it's still attached to your skull." They all nod and then I turn to my father. "Dad, you need to move over one because I already have a second chair." I say and he complies with my wishes. "This is my arena, you are all on my team. Don't do anything and we'll be good."

"Where's the client?" My dad asks as if I am incompetent enough to forget to send someone to get the client.

"Nadi's getting him; his family too. I thought it would be good for the jury to see that he's a family man." I said and went back to my notes. Five minutes later, Nadi comes in with Malcolm Richmond, one of the wealthiest people in New York City. He is also the youngest billionaire in New York as well. Being twenty-five and having your father die and him inheriting the world is a pretty big deal. He has a wife; Helen and two kids; Sammy and Tori who came as well. I stand up and greet them.

"Hello Malcolm." I said and put out my hand. He shook it and I could tell he was nervous. "Listen to me Malcolm, I'm very good at what I do, okay?" He nodded. "I also want you to meet someone." I said pointing to my family "I wouldn't bring my father, the governor of New York here to watch me fail. I also brought my brother and sister because I want to show them that they got the short end of the stick and my job is way cooler than theirs." I said and he laughed.

"You know, I didn't mean to kill him… I just panicked and I tried to take the gun…" He said and he was shaking.

"Malcolm, I know. We have a secret weapon and it will liberate you from all of this. I promise I will get you to stay home with your family." I said and he nodded. I turned to his family and they all smiled at me. "Hi guys, you know, I have a son. He's going to turn eleven in about a month."

"You do not look old enough to have an eleven year old." Helen said and I just smiled.

"I was eighteen when I had him and it was a roller coaster. Kinda like the one you are on right now. I promise to get you off this ride as fast as I can." I said and she nodded. I turned to the kids and they smiled at me. "Well, this must be Sammy and this has to be Tori." I said and the little boy nodded. "How old are you two?"

"I'm four. Tori's five." Sammy said and I just smiled. I remember when Lucas was at that age and wanted to talk to anyone and everyone. Sammy looked a lot like Helen, with his golden blonde hair and light green eyes, while Tori shared quite a bit of resemblance to Malcolm with his jet black hair and hunter green eyes. "Why don't you sit next to my family? I requested it was a private courtroom due to the fact that this is a very sensitive subject."

"Thank you Ms. Martinez." Helen says and I nod. I sit down next to Nadi who is still shaking in awe of just meeting my father. My father aquatints himself with Malcolm and I re-read my notes one last time. The jury just came in and the bailiff was looking at the door.

"Just relax. You're innocent. Remember that." I said to Malcolm and he gave a slight smile.

"Well, this is court case 9815 Richmond V. New York. All rise for Judge Randall." The bailiff said and the room rose. I know the judge quite well; she's my mother's best friend.

"You may be seated." She bangs the gavel and we all sit back down. "Does the jury know their duties as being a jury of peers for Mr. Richmond?"

"We do your honor." The lead juror said and Judge Randall nodded. She looked towards me and my father and nodded.

"Let's call the first witness to the stand. Mrs. Campbell, you're up." Judge Randall said and Arabella rose.

"The city calls Malcolm Richmond to the stand." Arabella says and Malcolm stands. He touches Helen's hand and makes his way to the stand. The bailiff holds a bible before Malcolm and he puts his hand upon it.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?" The bailiff asks and Malcolm freezes.

"I do." Malcolm says and takes his seat. Arabella stands and unbuttons her jacket.

"Hello Mr. Richmond. How are you doing today?" Arabella asks.

"I'm good."

"Well, can you tell me who this man is?" Arabella asks as she pulls up a photo onto the TV screen set up in the courtroom. She shows a picture of a dead man.

"That is the man that I shot. Nathan Davis."

"The city would like to submit this as Evidence A. So you admit that you shot him?"

"yes."

"So you are aware that you killed him?"

"Yes."

"You shot him and he is dead. He can no longer visit his family, he can longer see his children. He can no longer say I love you to anyone."

"Objection your honor! She's pestering the defendant." I said standing up.

"Sustained. Get to the point Mrs. Campbell."

"How you feel now that you have killed a man?"

"I regret it." Malcolm said and he looked down.

"Do you love your family?"

"Of course I love my family."

"Would you do anything for your family?"

"yes."

"Don't you think Mr. Davis should have been able to see his family for one more day? To at least say goodbye?"

"Everyone deserves that right."

"No further questions." Arabella says and she gives me a slight grin. Oh how I want to punch her in the face. I stood up and went to the jury. I looked at all of them and smiled.

"Mr. Richmond, can you tell us about the night you shot Mr. Davis."

"It was the night of my daughter's dance recital. I was late coming from the office and I wanted to get her flowers. So, I went to the store around the corner from my office and I got her flowers. When I came out, I was going to go get a cab, when the man pulled a gun on me. I didn't see his face because he came from behind me and he told me to give him everything I had. I gave him my wallet and my watch and my phone, but then he wanted my wedding ring. When I refused, he said he'd kill me if I didn't give it to him. I turned around and I tried to fight him off. I grabbed the side of the gun and forced it to face him, but I don't know if he knew that I was turning the gun toward him, but he pulled the trigger and I saw the light go out of his eyes." Malcolm said letting a tear slip. I nodded and I looked at Helen and she couldn't hold it in.

"What happened after that?"

"I threw the gun in the dumpster and I ran."

"Why?"

"I was scared of what might happen."

"Did it ever occur to you to go the police?"

"I did, but I didn't think they would believe me."

"Maybe they'll believe this. Let this be shown as the defendants Evidence A. The video surveillance of the store the night of May 5 at 8:10 PM." I said and the video showed exactly what Mr. Richmond said. When it was done, I looked at him and nodded. "Why were you crying?"

Malcolm looked at his wife and his children and let a tear slip. "Anyone with their humanity would cry after they had just taken a life."

"No further questions." I said and I winked at Arabella and took my seat.

"We'll recess until tomorrow morning at 9 AM." Judge Randall said. The bailiff announced her retreat back into her chambers. I looked at Arabella and she looks very nervous. She gathered her things and I turned to Nadi.

"Okay, so you're interview with Jeffery and I will be tomorrow after this case is recessed. So, you're free for the rest of the day. Go do stuff." I said and she smiled at me.

"You were really good today." She said as she picked up her bag.

"Thank you." She nodded and walked out. I gathered my files into my bag and then I realized my family is still here. I looked at my father and he looked proud. My brother and sister were looking at me with admiration, but I really don't have time to deal with them right now.

"So, what do you think?" Malcolm said as he came back from the stand. "Do you think we'll be done with this soon?"

"Are you kidding? We'll most likely be done by the time I leave for my wedding on Friday." I said and he smiled. "You were great. Actually, Helen, I want to call you to the stand. If I know anything about Arabella, she will try to play the emotions really high on this one. I need you and anyone else who can vouch for Malcolm's character."

"I can do that. I'll try to get his sister too."

"Thank you. Go home you guys; it's enough for one day." I said and they nodded. They all walked out as a family which I thought was so cute. I turned to my family and they were all smiling at me. "What are you all staring at?"

"I want to be a lawyer." Lucinda says and I just laugh.

"Lucinda, you don't have the brain capacity to be a lawyer." I said and I just kept packing my things. "I don't even know why any of you came here."

"We wanted to see how you work. I don't get it, one minute you are talking about us like we're family and the other your attitude changes to bitch mode again." Lucinda says and I just roll my eyes.

"That wasn't for your sake it was for theirs. You what, whatever. I'm going to have lunch with my family now." I said picking up my bag.

"You never set up a lunch with us. I thought we were meeting for dinner?" Mark said in a concerned tone.

"Not with you. You aren't my family." I said and started to walk away. "I'll see you all at dinner. Lucas is coming so don't you dare say anything about the situation we have. If you do, I'll have your heads."

"Okay, I didn't know I was sisters with the red queen."

"It would be a pleasure to chop off your head." I said and walked out. I went through the front doors without being seen and I tried to flag down a cab.

"Devina!" A voice yelled and when I turn around, it's my brother. "Let me ride with you."

"Hell no." I said flatly. I waved down a cab and it was waiting for me.

"Come on, I'll pay." He said and I rolled my eyes. I got into the cab and he came in after me.

"Central park West." I told the cab driver and we were on our way. We were silent for ten minutes and I found strength in it. "Why are you here Mark?"

"Why didn't you tell Zeke I wanted to be in your life again?" He asked and I just laughed.

"I warned all of you that once you walked out there was no coming back. I hoped that you would stay on your side of the country, but apparently no one ever wants to do what I say. I say stay here and help me raise our brother and you move three thousand miles away. I say stay away and you come back. If I knew that everything I said to do, you would do the opposite, that would've made me life a hell of a lot easier."

"Devina…"

"no please, keep talking." I said as I pulled out my phone. I got a lot of texts from Skylar and Trisha asking me if I was alright and I got another text from Zeke reminding me of the lunch and to have a good time in court. Little did he knew that Lucifer sent little minion devils after me.

"Devina, I'm sorry. I was twenty four. You're still holding that against me?"

"Time doesn't heal all wounds Mark. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to raise Lucas with Zeke? When you tried to get back in contact I didn't care anymore. I was doing fine on my own and I didn't need a big brother."

"I came back here because I don't want to live in California anymore. I want to move back here."

"Absolutely not. This works better with me here you there and Lucinda chasing Walden wherever the hell he goes."

"I'm not asking for your permission. I have a job waiting for me at Bellevue. They need a new head of Cardio there. Dad's letting me move into the Martinez house just a block away from you."

"What?" I look at him like he's crazy. "A block away from me? I really loved it when you were three thousand miles away from me."

"no. Little did I know that it was already furnished so I need to find a place to put the furniture I brought from California?"

"Mark, slow down. Why are you doing this?"

"I don't want to be exiled anymore. I want to come home."

"No one forced you to leave."

"You think living in a world where everything I do can and will be judged by you, being reminded everyday of my mistake? I get that leaving Lucas and leaving you was a mistake. I understand that now. I want to be apart of the life you built."

"Why don't you be apart of Lucinda's life? You don't need to be apart of mine." I said and let out a sigh. "I don't know any of my family. I know grandma and grandpa. They were always there when you guys weren't. Zeke's family was there when you weren't. I had people that replaced you. I'm not saying any of this to hurt you, I don't need you."

"Mom always said that the more love doesn't take away from the love you already gave." Mark said and I just don't want to hear it anymore.

"Don't you get it? Do any of you get it? It hurt too much to be involved in yours and Lucinda's life. You both left me. Dad left me. The life we had before mom died, it wasn't perfect but at least you were still apart of it. In a way, I'm glad we weren't close before because it hurt a little less when you left." I said and he looked disappointed. "You can stop here." I got out of the car and closed the door. "I'll see you at dinner." I walked away and I didn't turn back. I walked up the steps to my door and unlocked it. I went to my study and out down my bag. I went to the kitchen and saw Marcella and Jelly just playing on the Xbox.

"What are you two doing here?" I ask pouring myself a glass of wine. I sat next to them on the couch and took a sip.

"Devina, not to say you're an alcoholic or anything, but it's 11:30 and you're drinking." Marcella said and I just nodded.

"You have no idea what I just went through." I said and I told them about my cab ride with Mark. "So, what do you guys think?"

"Shit…" Jelly said and I just laughed.

"Come on, I have to get ready for lunch." I said and we all moved up the stairs and made our way to my bedroom. We walked into my bathroom and to my closet.

"I mean, I don't get it. He has been trying to get in touch with you since Lucas was two and you said nothing to us?"

"I didn't know how to handle it so I didn't. I thought there was no harm in ignoring something that was three thousand miles away."

"Well, he's not three thousand miles away now." Jelly said and I just laughed. I put on some jean shorts and a black tank top and topped it off with a see through cardigan. I also put my one shoulder blue dress in a travel bag.

"What are you going to do now? He's not sight hours away anymore, he's eight minutes away." Marcella added to Jelly's statement.

"I don't know. Are you coming with us to Mom's?"

"No, I have to go home and do some stuff." Marcella responds. "I'm just waiting for the guys to get back from going go cart racing."

"They went go cart racing without me?" I say pouting and then I hear the front door open.

"Devina! You should come downstairs right now!" Zeke yells and I look at Marcella and Jelly. I shrug my shoulders and I get my things and start the great trek down the staircase. When I get down, both of the front doors are open and the guys are at the top of the stairs looking out onto the street.

"Babe? What are you all looking at?" I ask them and Zeke turns around. Obviously in shock, but it is a happy shock.

"Can I keep it?" He asks jumping up and down like a four year old. I move past all of them and I see my father, my sister and my brother and beside them were two cars I had never seen before; a Mercedez SUV and a convertible sports car I don't know the name of with bows attached to them. I stopped at the first step and I was dumbfounded to even think that they got cars for me.

"What is this?" I ask finally moving down the steps. Zeke and Lucas came down with me and I looked at my father. "Please tell me you're here to gloat because you got cars for thing one and thing two."

"Nope." He said with a satisfied grin on his face. "These cars are for you and Zeke. Let's call it a wedding present."

"the registery said napkin set not two hundred thousand dollars worth of metal." I said but Zeke was so excited. He went up to my father.

"Key's please." He said and Lucinda tossed them to him. "Zeke, you get the sports car and Devina, you get the SUV."

"Zeke!" I said and I looked at him.

"Come on babe, it's just a car." He said as he got into the drivers seat.

"Mom, let Grandpa do this for you. You work hard and you're the best mom in the world. Accept the rewards." Lucas said to me and I could feel Mark's stare at me. He walked up to me and handed me the keys.

"I made sure I couldn't get a refund and you can't return it." My father said with a huge smile on his face. "You're stuck with them."

"Dad…"

"Devina, let me do this for you. For your sisters wedding present I gave her the house in Ireland." My father responded and put a hand on my shoulder. "Let me do this for your wedding since you wont let me pay for it."

"Fine." I said reluctantly. "I'll see you all at dinner." I said and he nodded. He got in his car with Lucinda and Mark walked the other way, I'm assuming to his house. I look to my friends and they look so excited for me. "We better get going or mom's going to kill X." I said and they all laughed.

"The last one to leave the house, lock up." I said moving into the drivers' seat of my new car. "Zeke, you want to drive your car there?"

"Hell Yeah! Lucas go with your mom." Zeke said and Lucas hopped into the passenger's seat. "Babe, you may want to take the bow off of the car."

"See you there." I said and I took off the bow. Xavier was the first one to speed away, then me and then Zeke. In less than an hour we were at the Parker Estate.

_**Thanks for reading. You're all amazing and have a good day! **_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Zeke

It was about an hour from our house to Sea Otter Bay to which the Parker Estate, where my parents live. We have a pretty big property because it's been handed down from generation to generation. My parents have lived here for a long time, my dad grew up here, but he brought my mom and then as a wedding present from my grandparents, was given the estate and had me. There property from the outside looks quite lavish, but with my mother being like Devina, she made her home a home.

My parents love it here; with nature and the fresh air, unlike the city life Devina and I live. My mother; Anna Beth Parker, is a very kind woman. She had to be since she had me and my siblings as her children. She was a small, brown haired woman, which was normally curled and dressed as if she was on a farm. It's normal since she was originally from the south. My father on the other hand alternated from city to country quite a bit. Slower and slower, he's been pulling away from the Parker Foundation to let X learn how to take over the foundation one day. My father, Niklaus, or he goes by Nik, is a suit or jeans kind of guy. With his blonde hair and green eyes, he was, during his younger years, called a typical pretty boy.

My parents ran the Parker Foundation together for nearly thirty years it isn't a bad job though, regardless of the weight it puts on your shoulders, it is encompassed by the fact that they were helping people in third world countries and places that sufferer from natural disasters. Together, they made an amazing team. My father handled the business side of everything and my mother handled the social side of it all. Now, they are handing the tradition down to Xavier and my sister Madeline.

As I pulled into the driveway, I parked right next to Devina. And got out of the car, it's really awesome. I pulled the key out of the engine and I looked at Devina. Even in casual cloths, she still looked beautiful. She was looking at her car, and I could tell that she was mesmerized by the gesture of her father to get us both cars. She opened her door and slowly closed the door.

"Mom, this car is awesome!" Lucas said as I heard his door close. He ran around her can and to me. He touched my car and it looked like his eyes were about to fall out of his head. "Dad, this is so cool."

"Why don't you help Uncle X with his stuff?" I said to Lucas as I saw his car pull up to the spot where he usually parks. I walk over to Devina and she pushed her fingers though her hair. "What's wrong?"

"This doesn't mean we're reconciling with my family. Just because Dad bought us cars doesn't mean that we're all suddenly on good terms with each other. Especially with Lucinda! Over my dead body will we ever be on good terms again." Devina said and I just smiled. I kissed her forehead and I could tell she was closing her eyes. She let out a sigh and put her arms around my waist.

"Everything's gonna be fine. Nothing has to change if you don't want them too." I said and she nodded in agreement. She opened her eyes and looked up at me. I kissed her and she kissed me back.

"Hun, why are you wearing a suit? We're at your parents' house." She rolled her eyes and I just grinned. She opened the back seat of her car and she pulled out a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, and a pair of converse.

"What would I do without you?" I asked and she just rolled her eyes.

"You would get a ton of crap from your sister for wearing a suit." She said and I just laughed because it's true. Madeline would never let me shake the fact that now I'm, as she put it, a 'suit'.

"What is with this? Three cars? Last I checked, I was only supposed to see one." I hear my mom say and I smiled. I took Devina's hand in mine and we walk towards the house. There I see my mother standing on the porch with a normal apron and a greeting smile with my sister at her side.

Madeline is still fresh out of college; she just got her masters in international relations from Columbia. She was a tall brunette with brown eyes, the spitting image of my mother. She was wearing an apron, just like her too.

"What's with the suit? I know you're a senator and all but even the president doesn't wear a suit to have lunch with our family." Madeline said and Devina just laughed.

"Madi, take it easy on him today." Devina insisted and Madeline just rolled her eyes. She ran up to Devina and hugged her. Josephine came out of no where and joined in, then came my mother; which left X, Lucas and I just looking at them. They have a bond in which is indestructible.

"I missed you!" Madeline said and I just started up the stairs. The girls eventually came in as well. When you first enter the house, you see a picture of the entire family sitting on the porch. This one is a little dated considering it was eight years ago when Lucas was three and was sucking his thumb. I walked into the formal living room and there I saw my dad staring at the couch.

"Dad!" I yelled and he didn't even look up at me. He just stared at the couch. It wasn't until I fully entered the room when I saw that there was an orange haired boy on the couch. He looked at me with his brown eyes and his frat boy outfit.

"Who the fuck is this?" Xavier said in his intimidating voice on. He rarely every puts that on unless he feels like it's absolutely necessary.

"Xavier!" My mother yelled at him smacking his head. "watch your mouth in my house."

"Well, answer his question." I said putting my intimidating voice on. He stood up and looked directly at me and Xavier. I could tell Devina was shaking her head, but I couldn't focus on that now. I could tell that the boy was sweating profusely with the threatening stares my father was just giving him. He extended his hand to me and waited for me to grab it. I took his hand and gave it a firm shake.

"Peter. Peter McGreevy." Peter said as he tried to release my hand, but I still held it tight.

"Zeke. This is my brother Xavier." I said and X gave a slight nod. "Why are you here?"

"Zeke he's my guest." Madeline said pushing her way through to stand next to Peter. I released his hand and stood with my arms crossed. My father stood up and stood beside me. He was the same height as me, but way more intimidating.

"Peter, these are my brother's wives, or soon to be wife, Devina and Josephine." Madeline said trying to distract him from us. "This is Zeke and Devina's son Lucas." Madeline pointed to Lucas and he gave a nod. Frat boy can't even use his words."

"It's nice to meet you Peter." Devina said and let out a sigh. "So, Mom, do you need help in the kitchen?"

"Absolutely. I could use all of the girls." My mom said. "Nik, X, you should play football outside. Why don't you get changed?" I stood eyeing Peter for a few more seconds.

"Babe!" Devina said in a fierce tone. "Listen to your mom." I looked towards her and she gave me pleading nod and I nodded back.

"Come on guys. Go get the ball and we'll throw it around when I'm done." I said and I could tell Peter was relieved. I have no idea why, I'm not done with him yet. X and my dad went to the backyard doors and I picked up my bag and went upstairs.

I heard footsteps following me, and by the sound of it, it was Devina. I went to my room and left the door open for her to come in. She dropped her travel bag on my bed and she let out a sigh and sat down on the bed.

My room hasn't changed since I was a teenager. It still had the same T.V, the same and poster and the same smell. It was like a time capsule. I remember having to sneak in and out of this room so many times, I should think it's embarrassing.

"Do you want to tell me why you were trying to scare Peter?" Devina said as she sat on my bed. She moved a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'm just trying to protect her."

"By trying to make the poor guy piss his pants? Come on Zeke."

"I just want to see what he's made of."

"Whatever you do, don't piss off Madeline, because if she complains to me, you're sleeping in one of the guest bedrooms." Devina said and I smiled at the threat. I started to unbutton my shirt as I walked towards her. "Ezekiel Parker, are you trying to seduce me?"

"I just saw you sitting there and I just thought that all the girls that sat there before you was a mistake. It should have been you all along." I say and pull off my shirt. I kiss her cheek, and then move down to her neck.

"You're forgetting that you have known me all your life. I was there when you had all those girlfriends. You were there when I had all those boyfriends."

"All irrelevant compared to what we have now." I said and kissed her lips; harder and more aggressively with every passing second. She kissed me with the same force and desire until she pulled away.

"Zeke…" She said and I looked her in the eyes "Your mother is downstairs and our son is playing football with your father. Now's not the right time and your high school hook up spot is not the right place. But…" I said and there was a gleam of hope in my eyes "if you take it easy on Peter and you help me get through my family dinner, tonight." She said while seductively biting her lip. She put her mouth to my ear "I'm all yours. We can even try for that baby." She kissed my cheek and bounced up from my bed. She opened the door and looked back at me. "Get changed. I'll be looking forward to tonight." She exited the room and closed the door.

"Damn she's good." I said and I give a satisfied grin for choosing the best woman to send my life with. I put on the outfit Devina picked out for me and I put the other one on the bed. I walked out of my room and down the stairs. Like Devina, my mother put pictures on the walls leading down the staircase. I came by a picture of the first time I brought Lucas here. I touched the picture and I just felt the happiness flow through me. I walked down the hallway that leads to the kitchen. All of the women were in aprons doing something to contribute to the meal. I came up from behind Devina and hugged her waist. She was cutting carrots and smiled at my touch.

"Can I help with anything?" I asked and they all stopped what they were doing to answer my question with a constant shaking of their heads. I guess they're still not over the one time I blew up the pot roast.

"No honey, we're fine." Devina said as she put her knife down and reached her arms behind her so she could lightly touch my cheeks. Her hands slowly went down and I kissed her palm.

"Why don't you play with the guys?" Josephine said from the stove as she stirred something in the pot.

"Please take it easy on Peter. All he ever did was like me." Madeline said walking into the pantry.

"No promises." I said and smirked.

"Ezekiel, be nice to him. I don't ever recall Madeline ever being that mean to Devina. Or with X and Jelly." My mother interjected.

"I'll try, I can't say the same for X and dad." I said and I smiled. I kissed my mother on the cheek and I kissed Devina on the lips. I walked to the backyard and I saw X trying to throw the football to Lucas. Peter was just sitting on the porch, just waiting for something to happen that involved him. My father stood by X and clasped him on the shoulder as Lucas caught the ball. I walked beside Peter and crossed my arms.

"You know, we don't care if you have money or not." I said and he looked at me. "This family is weaved together like a cloth. We stand together, we fight together and we protect each other. My sister is the baby, she is loved by us, she is smart and kind and trusting."

"Zeke…" He began to say but then I glared at him.

"She's my sister and when I was growing up, she and X were my best friends. I love her and I will protect her no matter who I'm protecting her from."

"I know that. I have sisters too and I would act the same way you're acting now. I get that you love her and I get that you don't want her to get hurt. I will try my hardest to love her as much as she lets me, I would do everything I can to be there for her and I wouldn't dare hurt her because I know that she would get to me before you could get the chance." Peter said to me with sincerity. He said it with such conviction that it was hard not to believe him.

"How old are you?"

"I'm twenty-six. I just got my first byline in the New York Times." Peter said with his eyes never leaving mine.

"You're a reporter?" I ask and he nods. "Be careful when you tell Devina that. She'll never trust you if you do."

"Noted." He said and I nodded at him.

"Come on, let's see what you've got." I said and I whistled. Lucas looked at me and he threw the ball at me. He was a good nine yards away from me. Damn, my boy can throw. "When we're done with dinner, the girls will come out here. Watch out when they do because they are serious about three things; family, food and sports."

"They can't be as bad as you're making them out to be." Peter grinned but he caught on that I was serious. "How bad?"

"Let's just say last years thanksgiving game turned touch into tackle." I said and I think he could picture it himself. "Go long." I said and he started running. I threw the ball and he caught it. Lucas gave him a high five and X and my dad looked impressed. I smiled at this and jogged to my brother and father.

"So, what do you think about him?" My father asked as he looked me in the eyes. "Is he good enough for Madeline?"

"He's a reporter for the New York Times." I said and turned to X who understood what that meant.

X laughed to himself and looked at my father and said "What do you think Devina is gonna do? You know how she feels about reporters around Lucas."

"Does she know?" My father asks. My dad has always liked Devina. He has always thought of her and Jelly as his daughters as well. Both of my parents are very welcome towards both of them. Devina especially needs it because she feels that her family has been ripped from her.

"No, I just found out." I said and they nodded. "I think he likes Madeline, well the correct term he used was 'love'. He means it."

"Okay." My father said and turned his head. I heard the patio door open and I turned around as well. Then all of the women in the family came out.

"What are you guys doing out here? I thought you were supposed to be cooking?" I said as Peter and Lucas came by my side.

"Honey don't worry, we have a timer on the chicken and all the vegetables are being kept warm." Devina said and put her cup of lemonade down.

"Can we play?" Madeline asked as all of the girls descended down the staircase. "Come on, pick teams."

"Oh no, you are not putting X in the hospital again." Xavier said talking in third person. "You guys are too competitive!"

"Oh come on babe, don't be a baby." Josephine said as she moved toward him. "Come on, mom and dad be captains."

"Alright!" My mother said enthusiastically. "Me first. Devina."

"Lucas."

"X."

"Zeke."

"Peter."

"Josephine." My father said. "Wait, we have an uneven number."

"You can have Madeline." My mother said and Madeline smiled. "Alright. We get this side, go over there."

I came up from behind Devina and lifted her off her feet. She laughed and I just smiled. I put her down and kissed her on the cheek. "Go easy on X this time. Don't want to sprain his arm again." I said and she laughed.

"Okay, I'll go easy on X, but I'm coming after you." She said and I just ginned. She gestured for me to come closer. "and I'll definitely be coming after you tonight." She seductively bit her lip and I had the sudden urge to bite it for her. I backed away slowly and then she turned around to face her team.

"Okay guys." My father began to say. "Your mom has won the past five games and I will not let her win a sixth. She may have more people but I have something she doesn't. I have the losing streak and the aspiration to break it. They're going to give the ball to Devina, Zeke. I want you on her. Everyone else, defense to the receiving end. Win on three! One Two Three."

"Win!" We all shouted and clapped our hands together. We all went against each other. Of course Devina is the quarterback.

"You ready babe?" She asked taunting me. "Whatever team loses does the dishes. Set hike!" Devina said and Lucas tossed her the ball. They all started running and then so did Devina. Lucas had an opening and Devina threw it to him. She had one hell of an arm and Lucas was in the right place and the right time. He caught it, then Devina threw her hands up in celebration. I smiled and lifted her up.

"Zeke! Put me down!" She said through her laughter and I put he on the floor with me on top of her. I kissed her and she smiled. "get off me."

"Nope, not until you say that you love me." I smiled and so did she. She touched my cheek and kissed it.

"Of course I love you, but I do love football just a little bit more." She said and I laughed. I got off of her and helped her up. About forty five minutes later, the game was over with the score 28- 21 my mother's team. Of course they won, Devina and my mother never loses.

"So, I guess you guys get to do the dishes." X said as he taunted us. Madeline smiled then smacked him in the head. "Why do you people keep doing that?!" X yelled and we all started to laugh.

"Come on guys, lunch is ready." My mother said and smiled. My dad took her hand and kissed it. Thirty three years and they are still in love to this day. We all went inside and the guys set the dining room table as the women put their final touches on the meal. We all say down with my parents at the head of the table.

"Okay guys, who said grace last time?" My father said as he looked around at everyone.

"I did it last time grandpa." Lucas spoke up and my dad nodded.

"Okay Lucas, you get to pick who says it next."

"I want Peter to say grace."

"That's nice of you Lucas." Peter began to say and then we all looked at him. "but I'm an atheist." We all looked at him like he was crazy. We looked at Madeline and she sheepishly grinned.

"Wait, so you don't believe in anything?" X said and then Josephine coughed to shut him up. No one said anything, we just looked at each other and then him.

"So, what do you do?" Lucas asked and Devina just glared at him.

"You don't believe in God? Next thing you know he's gonna be a democrat." I said and laughed to myself.

"Zeke…" Devina said to me.

"I am a democrat." He said and another long awkward silence ensued.

"I'll say grace." Madeline said as she grabbed his hand and then X's right beside her. We all snapped out of the daze from Peter's bomb just unleashed on all of us. "Lord, help guide us through the path that you have paved for us. Bless the family and friends who aren't here and bless the food we are about to receive. Amen."

"Amen." Everyone said except for Peter who just looked very confused. My father cut the chicken and we all passed our plates down like an assembly line.

"So, Peter. What do you do for a living?" Devina asked and Peter looked at me frozen.

"come on Hun, answer her." Madeline said to Peter as she passed down the plate. "He's a big time…"

"Nurse. I'm a big time nurse." Peter replied hastily.

"That's nice. Mom always say that we need more male nurses around here. Right mom?"

"Absolutely." Mom said shakily. It seems like she knew that Peter wasn't a nurse.

"Which hospital do you work at?" Josephine asks. "We have a friend that works at Bellevue memorial."

"Yeah, I work at Bellevue memorial too. I'm a NICU nurse." Peter said his voice evening out. Madeline looked at him very confused. He nodded at her and passed along another plate. He is in no way impressing this family so far.

"So, this looks great. Do the women always cook or do you let the guys cook sometimes?" Peter asked.

"Last time we left the guys in charge of cooking, we had to go out because they blew up the meat." My mother said and we all laugh. "We normally cook and they guys normally do the dishes. Pretty much the only thing we can trust them with in the kitchen."

"Do you cook?" X asked as he shoved a green bean in his mouth.

"Yeah, for our first date, I made dinner for Madeline at my place." Peter said and Madeline smiled at the memory.

"Better be the only thing you did that night." I said and apparently loud enough for everyone to hear. Peter was chocking on something and X snorted up his beer.

"Zeke." Devina smiled and shook her head. "He was joking guys." For the next ten minutes, we engulfed everything we saw on the table. The sounds of utensils on plates and chewing filled the room.

"So, Madeline, people tell me that you called this family lunch. I hope it wasn't just to introduce us to Justin." Josephine said to Madeline with a smile.

"Nope, mom and dad told me that they had news and that they wanted everyone here to tell me."

"Well, what's the news?" I asked and my parents smiled at each other and put down their utensils. They looked at all of us and we just blinking in anticipation.

"Tell them Niklaus." My mother said and my father sat up straight.

"Well, as you know, Madeline graduated with her masters in international relations. Your mother and I have decided to pass on the foundation to the three of you." My father said and all of my siblings and I plummeted down to the plate accompanied with a loud crashing sound with our jaws opening.

"You're doing what?" X said and I looked at Madeline. She was frozen with terror.

"Mom, I'm a senator. I don't have time for the foundation." I said and I looked at Devina. She looked at me with compassionate eyes and I found relief in them.

"We thought you guys would be happy about this. X, you have been working there since you were twenty one, Madeline, you're high school internship was at the foundation. What's the problem?" My mother said to defend her choice.

"Mom, it's not that we're not happy. We are. We love the foundation and we all knew that someday, we were going to be given the foundation, but now? I just got out of college. I was supposed to travel to all of those countries and learn about them before I even started to take over your job." Madeline said in a compassionate and nervous tone.

"I had time to do that mom; it should only be fair that you give her the time to do it as well. As for me, you're right. Dad has been preparing me for this since I got out of college. I just think we need a transition period for all of this to happen. Just give us two years before you back out completely. It gives Madeline time to travel to those countries and see how the foundation helps people. And Zeke, he shouldn't be involved in this. No offense."

"None taken." I said as I gave Xavier my full attention.

"This isn't the life he chose and it isn't the life he is prepared for. I think he should have a seat on the board rather than run the foundation. Madeline can handle your portion of the company while I can handle the business side."

"I think that's a good idea Xavier." My father said and nodded to him. "Madeline, are you okay with us giving you two years before you take over for your mother?"

"Yes. That's perfect." Madeline said to my father.

"Ezekiel, are you okay with being on the board rather than running the company?" My mother asked and I looked at Devina. She nodded and then I nodded to my mother. "Well, then that's settled."

"Yes, I suppose it is." I smiled to Devina and she kissed my cheek. We all resumed eating and when we were done, the losing team did the dishes and the winning team goes to the den and plays tennis on the wii. We finish up and go back to the den. I see everyone there, except for Devina.

"Where is she?" I ask and they look at me. Of course they would roll their eyes at me because we all know exactly where she is.

"Why did everyone just roll their eyes?" Peter asked then everyone laughed. "What?"

"Devina's favorite place in the house is the library." I said "Lucas, we're leaving to go to the diner with your mom's family in twenty minutes. Get changed into one of the nice suits in your closet please."

"Can I do it after this game dad?" He pleaded and I nodded. I walked out of the room and I could hear peter say "This place has a library?" I laughed to myself and I made my way to the library. I went to the entrance on the second story because that's where her chair and her favorite books are. I climbed the stairs and opened the door and sure enough she was in her huge chaise lounge chair with a blanket over her legs with a book in her hands. I pulled out my phone and took a picture of her. She looked up at me and smiled. I walked over to her and sat on the chair.

"You know, if the person in this book were real, you so wouldn't have a chance with me." She said and I just smiled. "Seriously, a guy that risks everything just to save his one true love."

"Trust me, you don't want your life to be one of your books. All that they're about is drama and love triangles."

"Which is awesome." She said and we both laughed.

"Okay, if our lives were books, I would cheat on you with your sister and you would have an affair with X and then my mother would kill you all." I said and she looked dumbfounded by the idea.

"Yeah but this book has amazing angels in them!" She said and put up the book.

"Come on, we have to have dinner with your family. We need to change." I said and stood up. I pulled her up with me and she immediately pulled my lips to hers. We stood there, caught up in the moment. She jumped up and wrapped her legs around me and I sat us both down on the couch; overwhelmed by each other's presence. She unlocked her lips from mine and leaned her head forward so our heads are touching. Our breaths are loud and heavy and our eyes closed taking in the moment.

"Tonight." She promised. "I'm all yours." I opened my eyes and the mesmerizing brown eyes were staring back at me with her long brown hair in her face. I nodded and she gracefully got off me and helped me up. We walked back to my room together. She changed into an amazing one shoulder blue dress that made me fall even more in love with her by the second. I put my sit back on and she smiled at me.

"You look amazing as always." I said to her and she blushed. I grinned at her and she kissed my cheek. I took my hand in hers and we walked downstairs. She got her keys out and everyone gathered in the foyer to say goodbye to us. I said goodbye to all of them, but not without a witty remark about me in a suit. Then Devina and I got in our cars and went to the dinner that has a very big possibility of killing us both.

_**Hello my lovely readers, you are all amazing and I hope you are having a beautiful day. My advice to anyone and everyone is READ THE HUSH HUSH SERIES AND ALIENATED! Please… **_


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